restrain、check、refrain、bridle、curb与inhibit这些动词均含“阻止、抑制、制止”之意。
restrain : 含义广，指用强力或权力去阻止或限制某人做某事。
- The prisoner had to be restrained by the police.
警察只好强行制住囚犯。 - In a further reflection of the restrained mood, some serial acquirers have gone into reverse, divesting or spinning off assets.
一些连环收购者已开始反其道而行之，出让或者剥离资产，进一步反映出当下理性克制的情绪。
——《经济学人》
check : 多指阻止前进或继续发展。
- 她本想告诉他全部真相，但是又忍住了——那还不是时候。
She wanted to tell him the whole truth but she checked herself─it wasn't the right moment.
refrain : 常指暂时对某种行动或冲动的抑制。
- 我们忍住不嘲笑他们的新鞋子，直到他们走了。
We refrained from sneering at their new shoes until they were gone. - 那个总是自我吹嘘的异见分子克制住了自己，没有在公开场合批评政府。
The dissident who always blows his own trumpet has refrained from criticizing the government in public.
（拓展学习：小词详解 | refrain）
bridle : 指抑制住强烈的感情或欲望。
- 他学会了控制脾气。
He learned to bridle his temper.
curb : 可指急剧或果断的制止，也可指用严格的方法加以控制。
- curb the spread of the coronavirus
遏制疫情蔓延势头 - Conservative clerics have been muzzled and the vice police curbed, as the Saudis tone down their austere brand of Islam.
随着沙特人设法缓和严厉的伊斯兰教教规，它捂住了保守的神职人员的嘴，限制了风化警队的权力。
——《经济学人》
inhibit : 主要指抑制愿望、情绪或念头，也指制止某物的蔓延。
- 缺氧可能阻碍胎儿的大脑发育。
A lack of oxygen may inhibit brain development in the unborn child.
