Synonyms of blockade

blockade 1 of 2

noun

as in siege

the cutting off of an area by military means to stop the flow of people or supplies

it was the blockade of all the enemy's major ports that finally won the war

Synonyms & Similar Words

• siege
• investment
• beleaguerment
• leaguer
• encirclement
• isolation
• containment
• segregation
• quarantine
• insulation
• counterblockade
• sequestration
• seclusion
• confinement
• internment
• encompassment
• incarceration

blockade

2 of 2

verb

blä-ˈkād 

1

as in to guard

to disallow entry into (a place) by means of a physical barrier at the entry point

the militant protestors blockaded the whole area around city hall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• guard
• barricade
• close (off)
• block (off)
• bar
• gate
• wall (off)
• fence
• curtain (off)
• lock
• screen (off)
• obstruct
• dike
• hedge
• bolt

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• open
• reopen
• unblock
• unbar
• unbolt

2

as in to besiege

to surround (as a fortified place) with armed forces for the purpose of capturing or preventing commerce and communication

blockaded the city until it surrendered

Synonyms & Similar Words

• besiege
• attack
• assault
• encircle
• barricade
• dam
• lay siege to
• block
• cut off
• leaguer
• beleaguer
• invest
• isolate
• quarantine
• beset
• confine
• assail
• insulate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• release
• rescue
• free
• liberate
• emancipate

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of blockade

Noun

Shipping data and satellite imagery indicate there are nearly 20 Iranian tankers at anchor near Kharg, unable to exit the Gulf because of the US naval blockade but in many cases fully laden. — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2026

In April, another nationwide trucker and farmer protest produced blockades across numerous states, again disrupting major freight corridors. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2026

Verb

During the early nineteen-eighties, when Paul Volcker, the chair of the Federal Reserve, raised interest rates to twenty per cent in the face of rampant inflation, furious farmers blockaded the Fed’s headquarters with their tractors. — John Cassidy, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

In July, Houthi forces began blockading the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the corridor linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, in response to renewed Saudi strikes on Yemen. — Frank Ahrens, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026