Synonyms of blockades

blockades 1 of 2

noun

plural of blockade

as in sieges

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

• sieges
• investments
• leaguers
• segregations
• sequestrations
• isolations
• insulations
• encirclements
• beleaguerments
• seclusions
• quarantines
• containments
• counterblockades
• internments
• confinements
• encompassments
• incarcerations

blockades

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of blockade

1

as in guards

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

• guards
• barricades
• blocks (off)
• walls (off)
• closes (off)
• gates
• bars
• fences
• curtains (off)
• locks
• hedges
• dikes
• obstructs
• screens (off)
• bolts

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• opens
• unbars
• reopens
• unblocks
• unbolts

2

as in besieges

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

• besieges
• attacks
• assaults
• barricades
• encircles
• blocks
• lays siege to
• beleaguers
• leaguers
• dams
• cuts off
• invests
• quarantines
• confines
• isolates
• assails
• besets
• insulates

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• releases
• rescues
• frees
• liberates
• emancipates

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of blockades

Noun

By then, a hundred and ninety students had already been injured as police cracked down on individual blockades at schools. — Maurice Samuels, New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2026

Hennepin County prosecutors have fought the DOJ for key evidence in Pretti’s death for months, after federal law enforcement repeatedly threw up blockades to their access. — Whitney Wild, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2026

Those strikes and blockades in the south were matched by protests, which turned to riots in the north. — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Oct. 2026

With the government unable to respond to students’ demands, the school demonstrations and blockades have morphed into larger protests over soaring living costs, just months before next year’s presidential election to choose Macron’s successor. — Samuel Petrequin, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026

Protesters have survived, but not escaped, violence, incarceration, internet blackouts and police blockades. — Amrita Basu, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2026

But, refusing to die a slow death of a thousand permitting blockades or financial setbacks, SunZia instead evolved. — Sara Herschander, Vox, 22 Oct. 2026

Insurers must also account for risks that don’t fit neatly into traditional underwriting categories, including climate change, heat stress and supply-chain disruptions caused by shipping lane blockades, blackouts or labor strikes, Bhuiyan said. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026

An international socialist publication that covered the French school blockades and placed them within a broader argument about austerity, militarization and capitalism. — Asra Q. Nomani, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Verb

There's no question that the United States has a credible threat of force, but the blockade really blockades ourselves as well as Iran. — ABC News, 26 Apr. 2026

As the United States military blockades the Strait of Hormuz fuel prices rose above $100 dollars a barrel. — Contessa Brewer,dawn Giel, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026

His death sparked civil unrest in Puerto Vallarta and more than a dozen Mexican states, including Quintana Roo, with cars set on fire and blockades obstructing highways. — Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026

Road blockades, traffic slowdowns and other protests were widespread – from the southern port city of Marseille to Lille and Caen in the north, and from Nantes and Rennes in the west to Grenoble and Lyon in the southeast. — Greg Norman, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025