restrain
To hold someone or something back.
restrain in a sentence
- Dad had to restrain the excited labrador before it flattened the postman.
- We tried to restrain our giggles during the quiet part of the show, but they burst out anyway.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to restrain?
- Ahold
- Bfree
- Crelease
- Dunleash
Show the answer
A: hold. The other three mean the opposite of restrain.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to restrain?
- Ahold
- Bstop
- Cfree
- Dcontrol
Show the answer
C: free. The other three mean nearly the same as restrain.
Words that mean something similar
hold, stop, control
Words that mean the opposite
free, release, unleash
More words about movement & action
- retreat: To move back or away, especially from danger.
- retrieve: To go and get something back.
- revolt: To rise up and fight against the people in charge.
- rigid: Stiff and impossible to bend, or very strict.
- roam: To wander around freely with no fixed plan.
- ruffle: To make something messy or to upset someone slightly.
- rummage: To search for something by moving things around in a messy way.
- rupture: To burst or break apart suddenly.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test