contrainte
French, noun/kɔ̃.tʁɛ̃t/
contrainte is spelled C-O-N-T-R-A-I-N-T-E (10 letters) and appears 13 times per million words in written French, the 5,331st most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Contrainte is a French feminine noun meaning “constraint” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a third-person singular present indicative of contraindre. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Violence qu’on exerce contre quelqu’un, pour l’obliger à faire quelque chose malgré lui ou pour l’empêcher de…”.
What does contrainte mean in English?
noun
- 1
feminineconstraint
- 2
femininerequirement, demand
- 3
femininestress
verb
- 1
third-person singular present indicative of contraindre
verb
- 1
femininefeminine singular of contraint
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Violence qu’on exerce contre quelqu’un, pour l’obliger à faire quelque chose malgré lui ou pour l’empêcher de faire ce qu’il voudrait. 2. État de celui à qui on fait cette violence. 3. Retenue que le respect, la considération, ou quelque autre cause, obligent d’avoir. 4. Tout acte par lequel on force quelqu’un à faire ou à donner une chose.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of contrainte
- contraintes plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce contrainte?
- /kɔ̃.tʁɛ̃t/
- \kɔ̃.tʁɛ̃t\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to contrainte
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is contrainte in French?
contrainte appears 13 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).