as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose
handcuffed by a dearth of funding, the preservation society can do little but stand by as these historic structures deteriorate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in bound
to confine or restrain with or as if with chains
wanted to take the trip, but was handcuffed by her responsibility to watch her ailing father
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hampered
to create difficulty for the work or activity of
the fear that the new mandatory, standardized tests will handcuff the state's teachers, who will have to specifically tailor their lesson plans for the test
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handcuffed
Adjective
-
Yet the Rocket have been outscored 15-4 through three games, looking helpless against a Checkers team that has gotten red hot at exactly the right time.—
Colin Cerniglia,
Charlotte Observer,
1 June 2025 -
From the dugout at San Siro, Lautaro Martinez and Federico Dimarco were helpless.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Verb
-
The cub hesitates before bounding off into the forest as someone off camera chuckles.—
Brooke Baitinger,
Miami Herald,
5 June 2025
-
The ballpark subdistrict is bounded, in part, by Interstate 5 to the east, Sixth Avenue to the west, Commercial Avenue to the south, and Market Street and Island Street to the north.—
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 June 2025
Adjective
-
More recently, in a tragic turn of events, he was left paralyzed from the chest down after being thrown from a horse during a polo tournament last year.—
Peter Aitken
Alia Shoaib,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 June 2025
-
In Facility Theatre’s new revival of the Irish playwright’s absurdist tragicomedy, the blind and paralyzed character (played by artistic director Kirk Anderson) looks like a slightly steampunk Scrooge, writes Emily McClanathan.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2025
Verb
-
But the Vikings are just as formidable — top 10 in points for and against and tied for the most takeaways in football.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
The Athletic,
5 Jan. 2025
-
The Jaguars are notably 3-9 in one-score games — tied for the most such losses in one season in the Super Bowl era, according to ESPN Stats and Information.—
Scott Phillips,
The Athletic,
5 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
The provision was ratified in the late nineteen-eighties, but conservatives allied with the country’s agricultural lobby have long impeded its enforcement.—
Julian Lucas,
The New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Poor governance and economic stewardship have impeded the region’s development and generated the grievances behind the Arab Spring.—
Marwan Muasher,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
That kind of hypocrisy on self-enrichment could become a weak point for the GOP and a clear opening for Democrats to attack.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 June 2025
-
These weaker strains of the disease eventually sputtered out and went extinct.—
Mindy Weisberger,
CNN Money,
3 June 2025
Verb
-
The status of the third remained unknown, but snow obstructed a full view of the nest.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
-
Yoon apologized for his brief martial law decree, but later doubled down and defended the move, arguing the liberal party obstructed his political agenda.—
Sophia Vento,
The Hill,
8 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Handcuffed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handcuffed. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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