straiten
part of speech
verb (straiten, straitens, straitened, straitening) — mostly as adjective «straitened»
meaning for a pupil
1) (formal) To straiten is to make someone poorer or to limit what they have. tree →
2) (old) To straiten is to make something narrow or tight. tree →
3) «In straitened circumstances» (formal) means having very little money. tree →
sense in the lessons
A rare, formal word met in old books and stiff exam language. It mostly appears in the phrase «in straitened circumstances» or «straitened times», which tells the reader that a family or person is short of money. In everyday life people say «hard up», «short of money» or «broke».
examples
- After the factory closed, the family lived in straitened circumstances. tree →
- The village was straitened by the long winter. tree →
- In straitened times, people mend their clothes instead of buying new ones. tree →
- The war straitened the whole country. tree →
- The old story tells of a widow in straitened circumstances who shared her last loaf. tree →
- The school's straitened budget meant fewer trips. tree →
note
Do not confuse with «straighten» (to make straight): they sound the same but mean different things. «Strait» means narrow, as in «a strait» of sea or a «straitjacket». The word is rare and formal; use it mainly in «straitened circumstances».
In the corpora
- "In straitened circumstances" (old-fashioned) means poor and short of money.
- Is the spirit of the LORD straitened?
- When thou goest, thy step shall not be straitened; and if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
- The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down.
- By the breath of God ice is given, and the breadth of the waters is straitened.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «straiten» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.