as in suppressed
to put a stop to (something) by the use of force
the need to clamp down on petty crime in the city
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clamped down (on)
Verb
-
Ukraine's air force said Russia launched two missiles and 183 drones into the country overnight, of which 156 drones were shot down or suppressed.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
5 Feb. 2026 -
Congress was sidelined, independent media was suppressed, and opponents were detained, all under a veneer of legal authority.—
Alejandro Reyes,
Washington Post,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
If Quebec’s French-Canadian separatist movement and various referenda were ultimately quelled by Canada recognizing that culturally and linguistically unique province as a nation within Canada, then Alberta is headed for a similar result, at best.—
Rachel Marsden,
Hartford Courant,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Haitian immigrants in limbo A federal court ruling to maintain the temporary legal status of Haitian immigrants has not quelled fears for thousands of people in the community.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Few churchgoers were willing to speak publicly afterward and the atmosphere was subdued.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Joe Brusuelas, senior economist at RSM US, highlighted a few of those factors when pushing back on White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett’s claim Monday that subdued job gains are primarily the result of lower population figures and higher productivity.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Time and time again, courts have slapped down these strong-arm tactics that lack the force of law.—
Bob Morgan,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Jan. 2026
-
And that’s the big ol’ marker general manager Adam Peters has slapped down on the table, a year-plus into his stint here.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Yet lawyers for the parents suing point to internal documents at the companies stressing the goal of making social media apps difficult to put down through features like infinite scroll, auto-play, likes, beauty filters and push notifications.—
Bobby Allyn,
NPR,
18 Feb. 2026
-
His die-hard Red Shirt supporters took to the streets of Bangkok in 2010 in protests that were violently put down.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Clamped down (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clamped%20down%20%28on%29. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
