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

The senior Israeli official acknowledged that economic sanctions and blockades could be effective in persuading more pragmatic Iranian officials to pursue diplomacy. — Margaret Brennan, CBS News, 30 July 2026

With both blockades fueling fears over global energy supplies, the price of international benchmark Brent crude oil jumped above the $100 a barrel threshold Thursday for the first time since May before dropping back down. — Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 24 July 2026

The war has pushed up gas prices as the oil market got disrupted by blockades in the Strait of Hormuz. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 22 July 2026

But even as the United States and Iran resumed their blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, the economy faces a new problem. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 14 July 2026

Once the blockades end, a rebound in demand combined with excess liquidity is expected to drive inflation higher. — Armando Regil Velasco, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026

Export blockades caused by the Iran war have raised demand for the refinery’s fuels in African countries such as Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana. — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 26 June 2026

But one of the largest rural unions behind the road blockades that had strangled La Paz on Saturday called for a pause in the conflict and ordered protesters to withdraw until next week to assess the situation following the declaration of a state of emergency. — ABC News, 21 June 2026

President Rodrigo Paz on Saturday declared a state of emergency that gives the military broad power to remove road blockades that have put a stranglehold on fuel and food supplies in Bolivia’s seat of government and other major cities. — Isabel Debre, Fortune, 20 June 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