straitly
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strait
(strāt)n. often straits
1. A narrow channel joining two larger bodies of water: straits that were treacherous; the Strait of Gibraltar; the Bosporus Straits.
2. A position of difficulty, perplexity, distress, or need: in desperate straits.
adj. Archaic
1.
a. Difficult; stressful.
b. Having or marked by limited funds or resources.
2.
a. Narrow or confined.
b. Fitting tightly; constricted.
3. Strict, rigid, or righteous.
[Middle English streit, narrow, a strait, from Old French estreit, tight, narrow, from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere, to draw tight; see streig- in Indo-European roots.]
strait′ly adv.
strait′ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.