The narrow canyon walls constrain the river's flow into a channel so swift that sediment never settles along the bed.
狭窄的峡谷壁把河水束进一条湍急的河道，泥沙根本无法在河床上沉降。
Poet Celeste Marchetti argues that traditional forms, far from constraining honest expression, actually sharpen a poet's thinking by forcing difficult, productive choices about word and rhythm that free verse allows a writer to avoid.
From a Cross-Text Connections question · Craft and Structure
Which choice best defines “constrain”?
D — To force or limit someone or something to certain actions or conditions.. “constrain” means to force or limit someone or something to certain actions or conditions..
Which word means “to force or limit someone or something to certain actions or conditions.”?
C — constrain. “constrain” means to force or limit someone or something to certain actions or conditions..
constrain — to force or limit someone or something to certain actions or conditions.. In Chinese: 限制，约束.
constrain is pronounced /kənˈstreɪn/.
The narrow canyon walls constrain the river's flow into a channel so swift that sediment never settles along the bed. (狭窄的峡谷壁把河水束进一条湍急的河道，泥沙根本无法在河床上沉降。)
limit, restrict, confine — all close in meaning to constrain (to force or limit someone or something to certain actions or conditions.).
liberate, release — each the opposite of constrain (to force or limit someone or something to certain actions or conditions.).
Yes. constrain is on the SAT Prep Easy list — mid-frequency academic words that do get tested. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.
con(together)+ strain(tighten)→ tightening together, limit