stricture
noun
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Stricture has meant many things through the centuries, and its "restriction" meaning—probably the most common one today—is actually the most recent. High-school teachers often put strictures on texting during class. Cities concerned about their murder rate have slapped strictures on the possession of handguns. And the United Nations may vote to put strictures on arms sales to a country that keeps violating international treaties. With the meaning "strong criticism", stricture is slightly old-fashioned today, but it's still used by intellectuals. So, for example, an article may amount to a harsh stricture on the whole medical profession, or an art review may just express the critic's strictures on sentimental paintings of cute little houses with glowing windows.
Synonyms
Examples of stricture in a Sentence
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 25 July 2024
Friedman rejects these views, which root the current crisis in legal strictures, arguing that the fault lies neither with the constitution nor with the negotiations that produced it.
—Sisonke Msimang, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021
Some common causes include gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), esophagitis, hiatal hernia, esophageal strictures, primary esophageal motility disorders (PEMDs), and esophageal perforations.
—Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 29 July 2024
Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign inspired poetic musings about shaking off the moribund strictures of race, even as the first ripples of the eventual tide of racial backlash could be felt virtually from the outset.
—Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker, 27 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for stricture 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stricture.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Stricture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stricture. Accessed 20 Aug. 2024.
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stricture
noun
Medical Definition
stricture
noun
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