straitjacket
/ˈstreɪtˌdʒækɪt/
verb
- To restrict or confine severely, as if in a straitjacket.
- They felt straitjacketed by the strict curriculum.
- Bureaucracy can straitjacket innovation in large companies.
- The new rules straitjacket the artists' ability to experiment.
noun
- A garment made of strong material with long sleeves that can be tied to restrict a person's arm movement, used especially for violent prisoners or patients.
- The guards secured the prisoner in a straitjacket before moving him.
- Old movies often show asylum inmates wearing straitjackets.
- The patient was placed in a straitjacket to prevent self-harm.
- Something that severely restricts freedom, creativity, or progress.
- Outdated laws can act as a straitjacket on economic growth.
- The strict dress code felt like a straitjacket to the creative students.
- She viewed the rigid schedule as a straitjacket that left no room for spontaneity.
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