CONTAIN

check, turn back, arrest, stop, contain, hold back

(verb) hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of; “Arrest the downward trend”; “Check the growth of communism in South East Asia”; “Contain the rebel movement”; “Turn back the tide of communism”

control, hold in, hold, contain, curb, moderate

(verb) lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits; “moderate your alcohol intake”; “hold your tongue”; “hold your temper”; “control your anger”

incorporate, contain, comprise

(verb) include or contain; have as a component; “A totally new idea is comprised in this paper”; “The record contains many old songs from the 1930’s”

contain

(verb) be divisible by; “24 contains 6”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

contain (third-person singular simple present contains, present participle containing, simple past and past participle contained)

(transitive) To hold inside.

(transitive) To include as a part.

(transitive) To put constraint upon; to restrain; to confine; to keep within bounds.

(mathematics, of a set etc., transitive) To have as an element or subset.

(obsolete, intransitive) To restrain desire; to live in continence or chastity.

Synonyms

• (hold inside): enclose, inhold

• (include as part): comprise, embody, incorporate, inhold

• (limit by restraint): control, curb, repress, restrain, restrict, stifle; See also curb

Antonyms

• (include as part): exclude, omit

• (limit by restraint): release, vent

Usage notes

• This is generally a stative verb that rarely takes the continuous inflection. See

Anagrams

• actinon, cantion

Source: Wiktionary

Con*tain", v. t. [imp. & p.p. Contained; p.pr. & vb.n. Containing.] Etym: [OE. contenen, conteinen, F. contenir, fr. L. continere, - tentum; con- + tenere to hold. See Tenable, and cf. Countenance.]

1. To hold within fixed limits; to comprise; to include; to inclose; to hold. Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can not contain thee; how much less this house! 2 Chron. vi. 18. When that this body did contain a spirit. Shak. What thy stores contain bring forth. Milton.

2. To have capacity for; to be able to hold; to hold; to be equivalent to; as, a bushel contains four pecks.

3. To put constraint upon; to restrain; to confine; to keep within bounds. [Obs., exept as used reflexively.] The king's person contains the unruly people from evil occasions. Spenser. Fear not, my lord: we can contain ourselves. Shak.

Con*tain", v. i.

Definition: To restrain desire; to live in continence or chastity. But if they can not contain, let them marry. 1 Cor. vii. 9.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition