[ NL. See Boa, and Constrictor. ] (Zool.) A large and powerful serpent of tropical America, sometimes twenty or thirty feet long. See Illustration in Appendix. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ It has a succession of spots, alternately black and yellow, extending along the back. It kills its prey by constriction. The name is also loosely applied to other large serpents which crush their prey, particularly to those of the genus Python, found in Asia and Africa. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Constrained p. pr. & vb. n. Constraining. ] [ OF. constraindre, F. contrainde, L. constringere; con- + stringere to draw tight. See Strain, and. cf. Constrict, Constringe. ] 1. To secure by bonds; to chain; to bond or confine; to hold tightly; to constringe. [ 1913 Webster ]

He binds in chains
The drowsy prophet, and his limbs constrains. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

When winter frosts constrain the fields with cold. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To bring into a narrow compass; to compress. [ 1913 Webster ]

How the strait stays the slender waist constrain. Gay. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To hold back by force; to restrain; to repress. [ 1913 Webster ]

My sire in caves constrains the winds. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To compel; to force; to necessitate; to oblige. [ 1913 Webster ]

The love of Christ constraineth us. 2. Cor. v. 14. [ 1913 Webster ]

I was constrained to appeal unto Cæsar. Acts xxviii. 19. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To violate; to ravish. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To produce in such a manner as to give an unnatural effect; as, a constrained voice.

Syn. -- To compel; force; drive; impel; urge; press. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. OF. constraignable, F. contraignable. ] Capable of being constrained; liable to constraint, or to restraint. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Marked by constraint; not free; not voluntary; embarrassed; as, a constrained manner; a constrained tone. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. By constraint or compulsion; in a constrained manner. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who constrains. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. constrainte, F. constrainte. ] The act of constraining, or the state of being constrained; that which compels to, or restrains from, action; compulsion; restraint; necessity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Long imprisonment and hard constraint. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not by constraint, but by my choice, I came. Dryden.

Syn. -- Compulsion; violence; necessity; urgency. -- Constraint, Compulsion. Constraint implies strong binding force; as, the constraint of necessity; the constraint of fear. Compulsion implies the exertion of some urgent impelling force; as, driven by compulsion. The former prevents us from acting agreeably to our wishes; the latter forces us to act contrary to our will. Compulsion is always produced by some active agent; a constraint may be laid upon us by the forms of civil society, or by other outward circumstances. Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Constraining; compulsory. [ R. ] “Any constraintive vow.” R. Carew. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Constricted; p. pr. & vb. n. Constricting. ] [ L. constrictus, p. p. of constringere. See Constrain. ] To draw together; to render narrower or smaller; to bind; to cramp; to contract or cause to shrink. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such things as constrict the fibers. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

Membranous organs inclosing a cavity which their contraction serves to constrict. Todd & Bowman. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Drawn together; bound; contracted; cramped. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Contracted or compressed so as to be smaller in certain places or parts than in others. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. hindering freedom of movement.
Syn. -- binding. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. being reduced in width.
Syn. -- constrictive, narrowing. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. constrictio: cf. F. constriction. ] 1. The act of constricting by means of some inherent power or by movement or change in the thing itself, as distinguished from compression. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of being constricted; the point where a thing is constricted; a narrowing or binding. [ 1913 Webster ]

A constriction of the parts inservient to speech. Grew. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Serving or tending to bind or constrict. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. That which constricts, draws together, or contracts. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Anat.) A muscle which contracts or closes an orifice, or which compresses an organ; a sphincter. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) A serpent that kills its prey by inclosing and crushing it with its folds; as, the boa constrictor. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Constringed p. pr. & vb. n. Constringing. ] [ L. constringere. See onstrain. ] To dawn together; to contract; to force to contract itself; to constrict; to cause to shrink. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Strong liquors . . . intoxicate, constringe, harden the fibers, and coagulate the fluids. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. constringens, p. pr. ] Having the quality of contracting, binding, or compressing. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Constructed; p. pr. & vb. n. Constructing. ] [ L. constructus, p. p. of construere to bring together, to construct; con- + struere to pile up, set in order. See Structure, and cf. Construe. ] 1. To put together the constituent parts of (something) in their proper place and order; to build; to form; to make; as, to construct an edifice. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To devise; to invent; to set in order; to arrange; as, to construct a theory of ethics.

Syn. -- To build; erect; form; compile; make; fabricate; originate; invent. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Formed by, or relating to, construction, interpretation, or inference. [ 1913 Webster ]

Construct form or
Construct state (Heb. Gram.), that of a noun used before another which has the genitive relation to it. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, constructs or frames. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. constructio: cf. F. construction. ] 1. The process or art of constructing; the act of building; erection; the act of devising and forming; fabrication; composition. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The form or manner of building or putting together the parts of anything; structure; arrangement. [ 1913 Webster ]

An astrolabe of peculiar construction. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Gram.) The arrangement and connection of words in a sentence; syntactical arrangement. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some particles . . . in certain constructions have the sense of a whole sentence contained in them. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The method of construing, interpreting, or explaining a declaration or fact; an attributed sense or meaning; understanding; explanation; interpretation; sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

Any person . . . might, by the sort of construction that would be put on this act, become liable to the penalties of treason. Hallam. [ 1913 Webster ]

Strictly, the term [ construction ] signifies determining the meaning and proper effect of language by a consideration of the subject matter and attendant circumstances in connection with the words employed. Abbott. [ 1913 Webster ]

Interpretation properly precedes construction, but it does not go beyond the written text. Parsons. [ 1913 Webster ]

Construction of an equation (Math.), the drawing of such lines and figures as will represent geometrically the quantities in the equation, and their relations to each other. --
Construction train (Railroad), a train for transporting men and materials for construction or repairs. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to, or deduced from, construction or interpretation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who puts a certain construction upon some writing or instrument, as the Constitutions of the United States; as, a strict constructionist; a broad constructionist. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. constructif. ] 1. Having ability to construct or form; employed in construction; as, to exhibit constructive power. [ 1913 Webster ]

The constructive fingers of Watts. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Derived from, or depending on, construction, inference, or interpretation; not directly expressed, but inferred. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. helpful; promoting improvement; intended to help; as, constructive criticism; constructive suggestions. Contrasted with destructive. [ PJC ]

Constructive crimes (Law), acts having effects analogous to those of some statutory or common law crimes; as, constructive treason. Constructive crimes are no longer recognized by the courts. --
Constructive notice, notice imputed by construction of law. --
Constructive trust, a trust which may be assumed to exist, though no actual mention of it be made. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a constructive manner; by construction or inference. [ 1913 Webster ]

A neutral must have notice of a blockade, either actually by a formal information, or constructively by notice to his government. Kent. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. prenom. causing buildup of body tissues or tissue components. [ Narrower terms: anabolic (vs. catabolic) ]
Syn. -- energy-storing(prenominal). [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. Tendency or ability to form or construct. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Phren.) The faculty which enables one to construct, as in mechanical, artistic, or literary matters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. LL. constructor. ] A constructer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. That which is constructed or formed; an edifice; a fabric. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Construed p. pr. & vb. n. Construing ] [ L. construere: cf. F. construire. See Construct. ] 1. To apply the rules of syntax to (a sentence or clause) so as to exhibit the structure, arrangement, or connection of, or to discover the sense; to explain the construction of; to interpret; to translate. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To put a construction upon; to explain the sense or intention of; to interpret; to understand. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thus we are put to construe and paraphrase our own words to free ourselves either from the ignorance or malice of our enemies. Bp. Stilingfleet. [ 1913 Webster ]

And to be dull was construed to be good. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To interpret (a text or an artwork) by the method of deconstruction. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A philosophical theory of criticism (usually of literature or film) that seeks to expose deep-seated contradictions in a work by delving below its surface meaning. This method questions the ability of language to represent a fixed reality, and proposes that a text has no stable meaning because words only refer to other words, that metaphysical or ethnocentric assumptions about the meaning of words must be questioned, and words may be redefined in new contexts and new, equally valid and even contradictory meanings may be found. Such new interpretations may be based on the philosophical, political, or social implications of the words of a text, rather than solely on attempts to determine the author's intentions. RHUD MW10
Syn. -- deconstructionism. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

2. the process of criticising or interpreting a text by the method of deconstruction{ 1 }. [ PJC ]

n. Same as decontruction{ 1 }.
Syn. -- deconstruction. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. Of or pertaining to deconstruction or deconstructionism; as, deconstructionist criticism. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Such as can be misconstrued, as language or conduct. R. North. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To construct wrongly; to construe or interpret erroneously. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Erroneous construction; wrong interpretation. Bp. Stillingfleet. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Misconstrued p. pr. & vb. n. Misconstruing. ] To construe wrongly; to interpret erroneously. [ 1913 Webster ]

Do not, great sir, misconstrue his intent. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Much afflicted to find his actions misconstrued. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who misconstrues. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To construct again; to rebuild; to remodel; to form again or anew. [ 1913 Webster ]

Regiments had been dissolved and reconstructed. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of constructing again; the state of being reconstructed. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (U.S. Politics) The act or process of reorganizing the governments of the States which had passed ordinances of secession, and of reestablishing their constitutional relations to the national government, after the close of the Civil War. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Reconstructing; tending to reconstruct; as, a reconstructive policy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Freedom from constraint; ease. Felton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Physiol.) Causing constriction of the blood vessels; as, the vasoconstrictor nerves, stimulation of which causes constriction of the blood vessels to which they go. These nerves are also called vasohypertonic. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Medicine, Physiology) A substance which causes constriction of the blood vessels. Such substances are used in medicine to raise abnormally low blood pressure. [ PJC ]