"Stricture" traces back to the Latin verb stringere, which, as I just mentioned, meant "to tighten." Interestingly, it also meant "to touch lightly," and some etymologists see the two meanings of stringere as separate words, just coincidentally spelled the same.

I bring that up because it helps explain why "stricture" has two meanings that are quite different.

First, strictures are acts of binding or tightening, or tight controls or restrictions, either literally, like when your throat tightens up, or figuratively, like when society insists that you do and don't do certain things. (This sense of "stricture" traces to stringere in the sense of "tighten.")

Second, strictures are harsh criticisms. Originally they were random little comments made in passing, as if lightly touching people with words, but over the centuries the meaning narrowed, and today they're always harshly critical. (This sense of "stricture" traces to stringere in the sense of "touch lightly," although this kind of stricture today isn't gentle.)

Part of speech:

Noun. It's usually the countable kind: "They broke free from those strictures."

Other forms: 

The plural noun is "strictures."

Occasionally, you'll see "stricture" used as an uncountable noun, as in "They broke free from stricture."

And it's very rare, but "stricture" can be a verb, meaning "restrict, or criticize," as in "They see the dress code as stricturing their self-expression."

how to use it:

"Stricture" is a serious, formal, semi-common word.

Most of the time, when you see it, it's in the plural, and it's used to mean "rigid controls." We talk about specific kinds of strictures, like religious strictures, corporate strictures, social strictures, the strictures of adolescence, "the ideological strictures of painting or literature (New York Times)."

And we talk about people imposing strictures on each other, obeying strictures, and escaping from strictures.

That's the meaning we'll focus on in this issue, but it's worth noting that you can also use it to mean "sharp negative remarks." In that sense, we talk about someone's strictures on some person or thing, as in "We're still rolling our eyes at Strunk and White's strictures on grammar."

examples:

"Stories were not smiled upon at the abbey. At best, they distracted from spiritual contemplation. At worst, they honored false gods and festered into sin. But Brother Cyrus had gone beyond such strictures."
   — Laini Taylor, Strange the Dreamer, 2017

"Concertgoers were required to watch a two-minute antidrug video clip, drug-sniffing dogs met arrivals, bags were searched, uniformed security personnel were plentiful all over the site... The festival's widely publicized strictures may have cut down on attendance."
  — Jon Pareles, New York Times, 31 August 2014

has this page helped you understand "stricture"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain both meanings of "stricture" without saying "restriction" or "disparagement."

try it out:

When we talk about the strictures of such-and-such, we don't usually spell out the individual strictures. That is, it's a bit unusual to talk about a single stricture, or to use the phrase "the stricture that such-and-such must be done."

But some writers do this. Here's an example from the Washington Post:

"Abiding by the District's stricture [during the pandemic] that no more than 50 people gather, the arts center gave over the Opera House to a concert filled to only 2 percent of the auditorium’s capacity."

With that in mind as an example, talk about a situation you've experienced in which you had to abide by certain strictures. Could you specify what one particular stricture was?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Fill In For the Poet." 

I'll give you a few lines from a poem, with a blank where a word that we've studied before appears, along with the word's definition. See if you can come up with it. If you can't, that's fine: fill in the blank to your satisfaction.

To check out some examples, head here.

Try this today:

From Jay Wright's poem "Meta-A and the A of Absolutes:"

We remain at rest there, in transit
from our knowing to our knowledge.
So I would set a limit where I meet my logic.
I would _____ from my own cave
into the curve of sign, an alphabet
of transformation, the clan's cloak of reason.

Definition: "climb awkwardly with hands and feet."

To see the word the poet chose, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. Opposites of STRICTURES, in both senses, could be

A. POETICS and BIRDS OF PREY.
B. JOKES and TURNS OF PHRASE.
C. FREEDOMS and WORDS OF PRAISE.

2. The writer Diane Johnson has detailed the strictures of the Victorian age, such as _____.

A. capelets, and the importance of the family unit
B. corsets, and the fact that divorce wasn't allowed
C. intricate hats, and the rise of disposable incomes

Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. B From the game: clamber.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.