Meaning & use
straiten
Last updated
to make narrow or restricted, especially financially; to reduce to difficulty or hardship
See it in a sentence
The medical bills began to straiten the family's finances.
War had straitened the once-wealthy estate to near poverty.
A note on using this word
Best known through the phrase 'straitened circumstances,' meaning financial hardship; often confused with 'straighten.'
Words with a similar meaning
restrictconstrain
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Words with an opposite meaning
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