garrote

variants or garotte
as in to strangle
to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe the goons sent by the loan shark threatened to garrote the hero with his own necktie

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 garrote That means the Senate's only practical effect is adding another point at which oligarch lobbyists can garrote popular policy. Ryan Cooper, The Week, 29 Oct. 2021 Tony, unhindered by any sense of moral anguish, garrotes the man in broad daylight with a length of cable. Adam Wilson, Harper's magazine, 16 Sep. 2019 Sometimes the line between good writing and bad writing can be as thin as the piano wire with which a madman garrotes his victims. Laura Miller, Slate Magazine, 15 Aug. 2017 Last year, he was garroted by saw briars—the vicious inch-long thorns that lace the course—which left bleeding gashes across his neck. George Pendle, Esquire, 26 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for garrote
Verb
  • His mother, Julie, had been strangled with a rope.
    Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Maeve is in the hen house with Jayson, banging his gun around and nearly strangling her.
    Grace Byron, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In the quiet of the Sabbath morning when all the neighborhood was wrapped in slumber, some dastardly degenerate crept into the room, choked her to death, assaulted her criminally and left her bruised and bleeding body lying on the bed.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
  • In Lansing, Michigan, a group of friends around a late-night campfire spotted another raccoon in distress — this one choking.
    Ronnie Li, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Lockdowns throttled economic activity and squeezed tax revenue, while public spending surged as governments tried to protect the most vulnerable.
    Editorial, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
  • View gallery - 6 images Californian e-mobility outfit Viribus has launched a new electric trike family, with tasty specs like a 1,200-W peak motor on offer for pedaling or throttling up inclines, as well as dual shocks, rear differential, and a two-step folding design.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Garrote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/garrote. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.

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