1
as in to choke
to be or cause to be killed by lack of breathable air the gull got tangled in a piece of fishing line on the beach and was strangled

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2
as in to throttle
to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe the boy complained that he was being strangled by his tie

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3

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of strangle In a blackout state, Osbourne had lunged at Sharon and tried to strangle her. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 22 July 2025 Cromartie was accused of strangling an officer by wrapping his legs around his neck and attempting to take weapons from both of the responding officers, according to court records. Killian Baarlaer, The Courier-Journal, 18 July 2025 But America’s Western launch sites are growing in importance, and the lack of space industry investment may strangle opportunities for future growth. Craig Hooper, Forbes.com, 17 July 2025 Menzies was convicted of the 1986 murder of 26-year-old Maurine Hunsaker, a married mother of three who was kidnapped, robbed, strangled, and found tied to a tree with her throat slit. Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 11 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for strangle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strangle
Verb
  • Montgomery County Jail records showed that the athlete was arrested following an incident at his home that same morning and is accused of assaulting and choking or suffocating an individual.
    Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • He was accused of choking Jacob and then two hours later choking him again and hitting him in the face.
    Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 4 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Further, whites used the threat of racist violence, tacitly approved by elites, to stifle efforts to empower the Black population.
    Time, Time, 7 Aug. 2025
  • That’s when, particularly in the tech space, incumbents have the greatest incentive to stifle new technologies.
    Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Compared to the haze of Lollapalooza Day 1, the washout redux of NASCAR weekend and the action-alert heat that’s suffocated the city since June, Saturday afternoon in Grant Park was Chicago finally showing its best.
    Lily Carey, Chicago Tribune, 2 Aug. 2025
  • Embracing private relationships, then, is partly Gen Z’s way of rejecting the suffocating pressures of perfection and returning to the value of real-life displays of affection.
    Kameryn Griesser, CNN Money, 22 July 2025
Verb
  • When fixated on screens, our blink reflex is suppressed.
    Matt Fuchs, Time, 4 Aug. 2025
  • One woman described witnessing the harms of diseases that have been suppressed by vaccination, noting that her mother has experienced weakness in her limbs as the result of a childhood polio infection.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 4 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The fish held up in crispiness over the course of the meal despite being smothered in togarashi sauce.
    Irene Milanez, Sacbee.com, 28 July 2025
  • The creamy, rich, and cheesy potato dish is perfect alongside a short stack of pancakes smothered in their addictive butter syrup.
    Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 26 July 2025
Verb
  • While the girl kicked and laughed, the water, stirred from its sleep, latched on to her ankle and then swallowed her whole.
    Tochi Eze August 5, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
  • That’s a hard pill to swallow for any retailer, regardless of size.
    Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 5 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • If flooding is observed, then turn around, don't drown.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 12 Aug. 2025
  • That means being able to get three to five of the most important things done quickly, while drowning out outside chaos and distractions.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Strangle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strangle. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

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