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Alpachino10 Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

Limitation vs. Constraint

Hi. Is there any difference between "limitation" and " constraint" ? I guess there might be some subtle differences in the definition and usage of these words. I appreciate if anyone explain them. Thanks
  

Top answer

"limitation" tends to be more "in-built" and "constraint" tends to be more external. If something couldn't be expressed easily or logically in English, for example, you would say "this is a limitation of the English language", not "constraint".

— GPY

  • "limitation" tends to be more "in-built" and "constraint" tends to be more external.
  • If something couldn't be expressed easily or logically in English, for example, you would say "this is a limitation of the English language", not "constraint".
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4 Answers
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"limitation" tends to be more "in-built" and "constraint" tends to be more external.

If something couldn't be expressed easily or logically in English, for example, you would say "this is a limitation of the English language", not "constraint".
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Use 'limitation' if the boundaries are rather natural, objective, and reasonable. Use 'constraint' if the boundaries are more draconian, subjective, or extreme.

In general, there is little point in asking about the differences among synonyms unless there is a context in which to compare them, because there are many collocations in English which may contradict any general comparison.
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GPYIf something couldn't be expressed easily or logically in English, for example, you would say "this is a limitation of the English language", not "constraint".
Somehow my opposite example got omitted... I meant to give one something like this:

For example, if you had an equation involving x, and you imposed the condition that x> 10
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