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
• blocked
• hobbled
• stymied
• hog-tied
• restrained
• fettered
• delayed
• tied up
• encumbered
• interfered (with)
• tied
• constrained
• short-circuited
• disrupted
• clogged
• trammeled
• held back
• bound
• frustrated
• thwarted
• arrested
• chained
• tethered
• cramped one's style
• balked
• reined
• stifled
• leashed
• held up
• barricaded
• gave a hard time
• checked
• curbed
• choked
• retained
• retarded
• 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

At one point during the first meeting, Zempel handcuffed the girl, according to the complaint. —Nick Lentz, CBS News, 19 May 2026

The enforcer handcuffed me and shoved me into the same car, again forcing my head between my knees. —Abraham Jiménez Enoa, The Dial, 19 May 2026

Shortly after, a police officer read Mangione his Miranda rights before he was frisked and handcuffed behind his back. —Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 18 May 2026

The arrest was Woods' second in under a decade, having also been handcuffed after being found asleep behind the wheel in Florida in the early hours of the day. —Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 15 May 2026

She was handcuffed in her wedding dress and transported to a prison cell by an officer. —Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026

When their convoy is brutally ambushed, they are left handcuffed together and, on the run, forcing her to put her life in his hands. —Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2026

Victims were sometimes found handcuffed or bound. —Sam Mednick, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026

Victims were sometimes found handcuffed or bound. —ABC News, 12 May 2026