CONSTRAINT

[noun] [C] - something which controls what you do by keeping you within particular limitsThe constraints of politeness wouldn't allow her to say what she really thought about the dinner he had prepared.Living with a roommate imposed constraints on her - she couldn't play her trumpet or have parties late at night.The financial constraints on the company mean that they are not employing new staff.(formal) Constraint is also used to describe the type of awkward behaviour which is sometimes the result of forcing yourself to act in a particular way.She tried to appear friendly and natural but her constraint was obvious.If you do something under constraint you do it only because you have been forced to.They confessed the truth but only under constraint.