Synonyms of handcuffed

handcuffed 1 of 2

adjective

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

• helpless
• paralyzed
• weak
• incompetent
• powerless
• hog-tied
• impotent
• high and dry
• hamstrung
• passive
• incapable
• useless
• ineffective
• impuissant
• unfit
• feeble
• ineffectual
• supine
• infirm
• inept
• spineless
• frail
• unaggressive

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• able
• powerful
• strong
• capable
• competent
• mighty
• effective
• efficient
• potent
• dominant
• authoritarian
• autocratic
• tough
• sturdy
• dynamic
• forceful
• vigorous
• important
• tyrannical
• robust
• energetic
• major
• significant
• top
• dictatorial
• senior
• despotic
• puissant
• magisterial
• high-level

handcuffed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of handcuff

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

• bound
• tied
• shackled
• hampered
• chained
• pinioned
• manacled
• confined
• lashed
• fettered
• constrained
• enchained
• attached
• trammeled
• enfettered
• trussed
• gyved
• linked
• secured
• hobbled
• fastened
• hog-tied
• ironed
• restricted
• hindered
• impeded
• bitted
• limited
• joined
• curbed
• tangled
• entangled

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rescued
• liberated
• freed
• released
• unbound
• unshackled
• emancipated
• loosed
• untied
• unfastened
• unfettered
• detached
• disengaged
• undid
• untangled

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

• hampered
• impeded
• hindered
• embarrassed
• obstructed
• handicapped
• shackled
• manacled
• inhibited
• cramped
• hobbled
• blocked
• stymied
• hog-tied
• fettered
• restrained
• tied up
• delayed
• encumbered
• interfered (with)
• tied
• constrained
• short-circuited
• clogged
• disrupted
• trammeled
• held back
• bound
• frustrated
• arrested
• thwarted
• chained
• tethered
• cramped one's style
• balked
• reined
• leashed
• stifled
• held up
• barricaded
• gave a hard time
• curbed
• checked
• choked
• retarded
• retained
• strangled
• confined
• braked
• baffled
• blockaded
• muzzled
• suffocated
• haltered
• smothered
• mired
• bogged (down)
• foiled
• sabotaged
• roadblocked
• stumped
• derailed
• repressed
• hemmed (in)
• suppressed
• hedged (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• assisted
• helped
• aided
• facilitated
• opened
• released
• cleared
• freed
• liberated
• untied
• loosened
• unplugged
• smoothed
• encouraged
• promoted
• made way
• unclogged
• unstopped
• furthered

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of handcuffed

Verb

The video garnered plenty of attention on social media as some who watched on television believed Jacobs was simulating getting handcuffed. — Steve Megargee, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2026

Sterling then pushed her face down to the asphalt, placed his knee on her back, and handcuffed her, the footage shows. — Theresa Clift, Sacbee.com, 26 Oct. 2026

According to Bryant, officers handcuffed the men, questioned them separately and placed him in a police vehicle before releasing him with the citation. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Footage also captured Fusaro allegedly naked with Raymond while she was handcuffed to a bed, per the outlet. — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 16 Oct. 2026

Advocates are fighting to ensure that two potential witnesses who were handcuffed in the back of an ICE vehicle that struck and injured a Houston man are not deported. — David Hickey, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026

The two pulled the boy to the ground by his sweatshirt and handcuffed him, police records show. — Kristian Hernández, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Oct. 2026

The two exchanged gunfire before Todd shot and handcuffed Hasan, ending the rampage. — Meagan Harris, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

He was handcuffed, and his head and body were wrapped in a gray blanket. — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026