as in paralyzing
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
the downtown development committee claims that it's hamstrung by city ordinances protecting historic buildings
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Recent Examples of hamstringing
All three Eastern Conference teams are vying in what has become a wide-open race, with injuries hamstringing several teams.
—
Tyler Erzberger, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
The team has had trouble finding traction this season, with early injuries and the six-game suspension of wide receiver Rashee Rice hamstringing their offensive efforts.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
Trump’s action will feed America’s destructive use of oil, while hamstringing us in the green tech race against Chinese and other foreign carmakers.
—Clara McMichael, ABC News, 3 Dec. 2025
That strategy has also allowed Nintendo to avoid the high costs and constant retraining that are hamstringing its competitors.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 28 Nov. 2025
In March, cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) disappeared the nearly $2 billion invested in the RECOVER (Researching Covid to Enhance Recovery) initiative, hamstringing research that might have yielded diagnostic tests or better treatments.
—Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2025
Sauer warned that the lower ruling was hamstringing enforcement efforts by raising the possibility of contempt when agents conduct immigration raids in the district.
—Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 8 Sep. 2025
The Federal Communications Commission is hamstringing its upcoming review of broadband availability by ignoring the prices consumers must pay for Internet service, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said in a statement yesterday.
—Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2025
The current lack of talent in these industries is hamstringing organization success.
—Solange Charas, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Tyler Erzberger, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
The team has had trouble finding traction this season, with early injuries and the six-game suspension of wide receiver Rashee Rice hamstringing their offensive efforts.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
Trump’s action will feed America’s destructive use of oil, while hamstringing us in the green tech race against Chinese and other foreign carmakers.
—Clara McMichael, ABC News, 3 Dec. 2025
That strategy has also allowed Nintendo to avoid the high costs and constant retraining that are hamstringing its competitors.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 28 Nov. 2025
In March, cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) disappeared the nearly $2 billion invested in the RECOVER (Researching Covid to Enhance Recovery) initiative, hamstringing research that might have yielded diagnostic tests or better treatments.
—Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2025
Sauer warned that the lower ruling was hamstringing enforcement efforts by raising the possibility of contempt when agents conduct immigration raids in the district.
—Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 8 Sep. 2025
The Federal Communications Commission is hamstringing its upcoming review of broadband availability by ignoring the prices consumers must pay for Internet service, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said in a statement yesterday.
—Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2025
The current lack of talent in these industries is hamstringing organization success.
—Solange Charas, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hamstringing
Verb
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The region is grappling with a winter storm that is paralyzing activity in the area with freezing precipitation on its roads, discouraging shoppers from heading out to stores.—
Brian Womack,
Dallas Morning News,
24 Jan. 2026
-
An inspiration to all is assistant manager of excursions Kineret Munoz, who hasn’t let a paralyzing car accident dampen her spirit of adventure one little bit.—
Sarah Marshall,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Both have endured crippling US sanctions that have precipitated economic collapses.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
7 Jan. 2026
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None of that was fearful because fear of the unknown, like fear of, showing up in a situation and not knowing what's gonna happen is like, that's a thing that's like crippling to adults and definitely crippling to teenagers.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Trump this week deployed border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota after this month’s fatal shootings of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, undermining Noem’s leadership of her department.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Jan. 2026
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And election officials across the country are warning that the administration’s combative approach is making their jobs harder and undermining Americans’ faith in the electoral process.—
Kayla Hayempour,
NBC news,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Milk, butter and cheese prices on the wholesale market and at grocery stores have decreased slightly due to oversupply and weakening consumer demand.—
Cheryl V. Jackson,
IndyStar,
9 Jan. 2026
-
This suggests consumers enter 2026 with continuing concerns over high prices and weakening labor market conditions.—
Phillip Molnar,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Youthful pond hockey injuries and years of surfing scrapes have been absorbed as painful but far from disabling.—
Fred Schruers,
Rolling Stone,
26 Jan. 2026
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Civil liberties groups that publish protest safety guidance consistently recommend disabling the face and fingerprint unlocking features and using a strong passcode.—
Nicole M. Bennett,
The Conversation,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The only way to repair the rift and deal with the incapacitating grief is through art.—
James Shapiro,
The Atlantic,
1 Dec. 2025
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He is accused of slipping incapacitating drugs into victims’ food or drinks before assaulting them between 2021 and 2024.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hamstringing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hamstringing. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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