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
  • And those payments are now strangling the city’s budget.
    Daniel Borenstein, Mercury News, 17 June 2025
  • Progressives say Connecticut has over-corrected for past fiscal mistakes, saving excessively and strangling core programs, even in times of high inflation or shrinking federal aid.
    Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2025
Verb
  • Officers then spoke to the second victim, who said Bonds slammed them to the floor and choked them as well.
    Michelle L. Quinn, Chicago Tribune, 23 June 2025
  • Its options are widely considered to include retaliation against U.S. forces in the region as well as choking a major global oil supply route, the Strait of Hormuz.
    Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 June 2025
Verb
  • The New Shepard capsule's stubby single-stage booster roared to life just after 9:38 a.m. EDT, throttled up to full thrust and smoothly climbed away from Blue Origin's launch site near Van Horn, Texas.
    William Harwood, CBS News, 29 June 2025
  • There are two basic kinds of ebikes, pedal-assist and throttle, with many newer models boasting some combination of both.
    Michael Venutolo-Mantovani, Wired News, 20 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Garrote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/garrote. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

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