Definition

Noun: 1. A restrictive garment: A strong garment, similar to a jacket with long sleeves that can be tied together, designed to bind a person's arms tightly against their body to prevent violent movement or self-harm. It is used as a physical restraint, typically in psychiatric or law enforcement contexts. 2. A severe constraint or limitation: Something that severely restricts freedom, development, or expression, functioning as a powerful metaphorical constraint.

Usage Examples

• Literal meaning:

  • The agitated patient had to be placed in a straightjacket for his own safety and the safety of the staff.
  • Historical asylums often used straightjackets as a primary method of restraint.

• Figurative meaning:

  • The company's rigid policies acted as a straightjacket, stifling creativity and innovation.
  • The new regulations put a straightjacket on the industry's ability to adapt to market changes.

Advanced Usage

• "to be in a straightjacket": To be severely restricted or constrained.
  • The research team felt they were in a straightjacket due to the extremely limited budget.
• "to straightjacket someone/something" (verb, less common): To impose severe restrictions on.
  • Laws that straightjacket free speech are dangerous for a democracy.

Variants and Related Words

• Straightjacket (verb): To restrict or constrain severely. (Note: This verb form is derived directly from the noun's figurative sense).
• Spelling Variant: Straitjacket. This is the original and more etymologically accurate spelling ("strait" meaning "narrow or tight"), though "straightjacket" is a common variant.

Synonyms

• Literal: restraint, constraint, camisole (archaic medical term).
• Figurative: constraint, restriction, limitation, shackles, curb, inhibition.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• To be straitjacketed by something: To be completely restricted by rules, traditions, or circumstances.
  • The artist refused to be straitjacketed by the conventions of classical painting.

Noun

1. a garment similar to a jacket that is used to bind the arms tightly against the body as a means of restraining a violent person