Synonyms of handcuffing

handcuffing

verb

present participle of handcuff

1

as in binding

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

• binding
• tying
• hampering
• confining
• shackling
• chaining
• pinioning
• constraining
• lashing
• fettering
• attaching
• enchaining
• securing
• linking
• restricting
• trammeling
• limiting
• gyving
• enfettering
• hindering
• impeding
• manacling
• hobbling
• hog-tying
• curbing
• trussing
• fastening
• ironing
• bitting
• joining
• tangling
• entangling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• freeing
• rescuing
• releasing
• liberating
• emancipating
• loosing
• unshackling
• untying
• unbinding
• undoing
• unfettering
• unfastening
• detaching
• untangling
• disengaging

2

as in impeding

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

• impeding
• hampering
• hindering
• obstructing
• embarrassing
• handicapping
• blocking
• inhibiting
• shackling
• delaying
• restraining
• disrupting
• hobbling
• stymieing
• interfering (with)
• fettering
• hog-tying
• cramping
• encumbering
• constraining
• clogging
• tying
• tying up
• holding back
• short-circuiting
• thwarting
• curbing
• arresting
• trammeling
• chaining
• barricading
• reining
• binding
• manacling
• checking
• frustrating
• stifling
• retaining
• balking
• giving a hard time
• strangling
• retarding
• braking
• cramping one's style
• tethering
• holding up
• blockading
• choking
• confining
• leashing
• sabotaging
• foiling
• smothering
• baffling
• muzzling
• roadblocking
• haltering
• derailing
• suffocating
• bogging (down)
• repressing
• stumping
• miring
• suppressing
• hedging (in)
• hemming (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• assisting
• helping
• aiding
• facilitating
• opening
• clearing
• freeing
• releasing
• liberating
• loosening
• promoting
• unplugging
• untying
• smoothing
• encouraging
• unclogging
• making way
• unstopping
• furthering

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of handcuffing

On the other side of the car, another ICE agent was restraining Salgado against the ground, handcuffing him. — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026

The month prior, Ariana Grande demanded that the administration stop using her music in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement TikTok video depicting federal agents arresting and handcuffing people. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 29 July 2026

The video ended showing cops pulling Hastings out of his car and handcuffing him. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026

One video published by The Bangor Daily News shows agents pulling his unmoving body out of the driver’s seat—then handcuffing him. — Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Time, 16 July 2026

Forest Service officials, their patience having long evaporated, arrived in force, handcuffing and hauling the occupiers out by the yokes of their flannels, then bulldozing the camp. — Literary Hub, 10 July 2026

And yet the situation has the potential of becoming a bigger distraction and handcuffing Yzerman from building the roster further. — ABC News, 2 July 2026

The police then appear to grab hold off the councilmember, pushing him to the ground and handcuffing him. — Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 27 June 2026

The decree requires law enforcement to meet specific goals before federal oversight is removed, including changes to the use of force policy, limiting military-style tactics during protests and banning handcuffing children under 14. — Riley Moser, CBS News, 25 June 2026