straitjacket

variants also straightjacket
as in confinement
a jacket that has long arms which can be tied together behind someone's back and that is used to control the movement (as of a violent prisoner or patient) The magician struggled to free his arms from the straitjacket and escape from the tank of water he was submerged in.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of straitjacket Think fuzzy bunny costumes with long floppy ears, dramatic eyeshadow, tops made from repurposed straitjackets, and so on. Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2025 Multiple lawsuits on behalf of African asylum-seekers concern the use of one such item, known as the Wrap, a cross between a straitjacket and a sleeping bag. Mckenzie Funk, ProPublica, 1 Apr. 2025 One man told her about a young immigrant from Bulgaria who’d been working here but had seemed to go crazy a few weeks earlier; the worker was removed from the plant in a straitjacket and later died. Daniel Stone, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2025 The music video may cause initial backlash among those concerned about propagating mental health stigmas by featuring images of a person in a straitjacket. Ingrid Fajardo, Billboard, 10 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for straitjacket
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straitjacket
Noun
  • He was subsequently ordered to home confinement in April 2025.
    Caroline Blair, People.com, 29 May 2025
  • At least nine of the 25 arrested have landed in immigration detention — scattered across the country from a crowded lockup in Miami to a facility in a sleepy Texas railway town to a confinement in a Pacific Northwest port city overlooked by Mount Rainier.
    Hannah Critchfield, Sun Sentinel, 29 May 2025
Noun
  • The Wegmans grocery chain has also improved the customer experience by using the GS1 Digital Link.
    Benjamin Claeys, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
  • Even Walmart and Target sell craft supplies, though hard-core crafters will point out, rightly, that those chains don’t come close to offering the selection of fabric and other materials that Joann did.
    Andrea Valdez, The Atlantic, 1 June 2025
Noun
  • The bagless self-empty base can hold up to 60 days of dirt and debris, and HEPA filtration traps 99.97% of allergens.
    & John Mihaly, PC Magazine, 27 May 2025
  • When Aliyar breaks a match inside a lock and traps 700 kids in the school playground, he is suspended for a week from school.
    Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 22 May 2025
Noun
  • Sarah Jessica Parker opted for a black tea-length lace dress with an exaggerated shoulder and a rhinestone collar.
    Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 29 May 2025
  • Creases catch the light even with the matte-gold paint of our test car, like the line ahead of the rear wheels that calls back to the collar on a traditional Korean garment.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 20 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Straitjacket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straitjacket. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.

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