as in paralyzes
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
the downtown development committee claims that it's hamstrung by city ordinances protecting historic buildings
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hamstrings
Verb
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In fact, too much choice often paralyzes decision-making.—
David Meade,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2026 -
Once an octopus ambushes and bites its prey, the venom in its saliva paralyzes the prey, allowing the octopus to consume it.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The author takes an overnight Amtrak journey instead of a flight to Washington as the government shutdown cripples Atlanta’s airport.—
Bill Barrow,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
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These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.—
Andrew Rein,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Senator Cortese deserves credit for taking on the real and persistent inequity posed by the divide between basic and non-basic aid districts, and which genuinely undermines the principle that every student deserves the same quality education.—
Mercury News Editorial Board,
Mercury News,
27 May 2026
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To some scholars of Christianity, such framing undermines some of Jesus' core ethical teachings.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
27 May 2026
Verb
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Organizations often assume that leaders working across contexts bring less focus and that divided attention weakens effectiveness.—
Henrik Totterman,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
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Gravity weakens with the square of the distance between the two, so a star that was on the far side of the Milky Way from the edge-on collision point would feel a much less powerful gravitational attraction than a star on the near side would.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
22 May 2026
Verb
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Lorenzo confronts and incapacitates Pepe, Sonia’s main ally, before facing Sonia herself.—
Isabella Wandermurem,
Time,
24 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Hamstrings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hamstrings. Accessed 29 May. 2026.
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