stricture

noun

1. 1

   (usually in plural) a rule restricting behaviour or action

   “For them, parity is less an ultimate goal than a transitory and permissive springboard for testing Western resolve and pursuing whatever additional accretions of strategic power the strictures of SALT and American tolerance will allow.”

2. 2

   A general state of restrictiveness on behavior, action, or ideology

   “I just couldn't take the stricture of that place a single day more.”

3. 3

   A sternly critical remark or review

4. 4

   Abnormal narrowing of a canal or duct in the body

5. 5

   Strictness

6. 6

   A stroke; a glance; a touch

7. 7

   The degree of contact, in consonants