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
  • According to prosecutors, Stinnett briefly regained consciousness and tried to fight back before Montgomery strangled her to death.
    Nicole Acosta, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025
  • Before police could arrest him, Jane Doe told deputies from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office about other times Betancourt battered and strangled her.
    Bay City News Service, Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Are there really women out there who want Badgley to put on his Joe Goldberg cap and choke them?
    Judy Berman, Time, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Southern California has been choked by smog since the mass adoption of the automobile.
    Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Taking inspiration from the Chinese Communist Party, the Kremlin has sought to build a digital iron curtain, outlawing Instagram and Facebook and throttling YouTube, which nearly half of Russians over the age of 12 had previously used daily.
    ALEXANDER GABUEV, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2025
  • In 2022, then-President Biden issued export controls on semiconductor companies, including crucial chipmakers like Nvidia and AMD, restricting sales of their most powerful hardware in the country, aimed at throttling China’s AI growth.
    Richard Nieva, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

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

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