withstraintEtymologyFrom withstrain, modelled after restraint. Equivalent to with- + straint.withstraint means the act or process of withstraining; restraint. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 95 out of 100.nounThe act or process of withstraining; restraint.“Thousands of slaves were better off by far than they have been subsequent to liberation, and it is a fact that speaks volumes for the much discussed and criticized slaveholders, that numbers of emancipated slaves refused to accept their freedom, while many more, who went away delighted at the removal of withstraint, came back of their own option very soon after, and begged to be allowed to resume ”