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manacle

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb manacle contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of manacle are clog, fetter, hamper, shackle, and trammel. While all these words mean "to hinder or impede in moving, progressing, or acting," shackle and manacle are stronger than fetter and suggest total loss of freedom.

a mind shackled by stubborn prejudice
a people manacled by tyranny

When might clog be a better fit than manacle?

Although the words clog and manacle have much in common, clog usually implies a slowing by something extraneous or encumbering.

a court system clogged by frivolous suits

When would fetter be a good substitute for manacle?

The words fetter and manacle can be used in similar contexts, but fetter suggests a restraining so severe that freedom to move or progress is almost lost.

a nation fettered by an antiquated class system

When is it sensible to use hamper instead of manacle?

The synonyms hamper and manacle are sometimes interchangeable, but hamper may imply the effect of any impeding or restraining influence.

hampered the investigation by refusing to cooperate

When can trammel be used instead of manacle?

The words trammel and manacle are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, trammel suggests entangling by or confining within a net.

rules that trammel the artist's creativity

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of manacle
Noun
Beneath it, on the left side of the page, was a picture of Jackson in manacles. Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News, 29 June 2024 During the trial, Wilber wore a manacle around his ankle and a stun belt on his arm. Sarah Volpenhein, Journal Sentinel, 2 Aug. 2022 Brown turned Milwaukee’s defense from manacle to meme. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 4 May 2022 How to Be an Antiracist is a journal of Kendi's efforts to free himself of the ideological manacles clamped upon him by a society suffused with white supremacism, capitalist exploitation, misogyny and the repression of unconventional sexuality. Dallas News, 26 Aug. 2019 From every officer’s belt there dangled an insectlike furl of disposable plastic manacles. Caleb Crain, Harper's magazine, 22 July 2019 The genie is literally the slave of the lamp, his power bracelets actually manacles keeping him obedient to an endless round of masters. Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 12 June 2019 The cellar dungeons were complete with bolts, chains and manacles for securing captives to the floors. Jonathan W. White, Smithsonian, 27 Feb. 2018
Verb
Once the detainees were on board, agents brought in a van with dozens of women, also manacled, to board next. Eric Cortellessa, Time, 10 June 2025 Drugged, kidnapped, and manacled while a pitiless killer wears her face. Keith Phipps, Vulture, 11 July 2024 Rubio hammered home his argument that there’s no daylight between Cuba’s lack of justice and Trump’s own trial, with a video featuring a military official manacled and brought before a crowd of more than 15,000 in the Havana Sports Palace arena. Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 14 June 2024 The scandal is that, instead of doing his duty, the attorney general manacled his own Justice Department’s investigation. The Editors, National Review, 21 July 2023 His hands were manacled to a chain belt at his waist, and his feet were bound by leg irons. Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 4 Dec. 2019 During those endless days and nights, everything was done to break his will: solitary confinement, pressure to confess by cruel supervisors and the humiliation of being manacled while receiving medical attention. Ariel Dorfman, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2018 They are filmed in lingering close-up as the opening credits roll, a montage of them manacling the wrists, ankles, necks, and dreams of African American men. Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press, 25 Feb. 2018 Early practitioners in literary study, the history of language, and anthropology were often ideologically manacled by the cultural mores that encased their object of study. Josephine Livingstone, New Republic, 25 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manacle
Noun
  • Still, the episode highlights how geopolitical supply-chain risk can materially affect production economics and timelines for any large-volume hardware program.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
  • None of that would have been remotely possible before the creation of the cold chain.
    James Sneed, NPR, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Over the next 12 months, HMS will gain access to mentorship, commercial opportunities, business and legal advisory, digital tools, and physical resources such as co-working spaces and wet labs, support designed to help early-stage companies overcome common obstacles that startups face.
    Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The permit problem According to Saltzer, capture is lagging because, despite available storage and existing pipelines, permitting new CO2 infrastructure remains a major obstacle.
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • His crushing final monologue, in which Vladimir confronts his own nihilism, is as potent as anything you're bound to see on Broadway this year.
    Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Storing cheese on your refrigerator shelves or worse, in the door, are bound to cause issues more quickly.
    Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 28 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Education experts are raising awareness about an opportunity gap existing in schools and are worried that school equity may be hampered by the next state budget.
    Leah Olajide, Freep.com, 25 Sep. 2025
  • The removal of Helena-West Helena's mayor in July has hampered efforts to repair the city's aging water infrastructure, according to local officials.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The bond between the two men was at the center of a fierce political conflict that spread in Washington, San Salvador and Miami.
    T. Christian Miller, ProPublica, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Early the following year, rising interest rates and soaring inflation pushed investors out of risky securities and into safer assets like bonds.
    Samantha Subin, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The additional hurdle for H-1B visas—a category for high-skilled workers that many tech companies rely upon—could undermine America’s ability to attract top tech talent, Bansal explained.
    Kristin Stoller, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Of course, there’s still a final hurdle for Cootes to leap over in the final week of the preseason.
    Thomas Drance, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • David Rosenberg, founder of the economic and market insights firm Rosenberg Research, similarly highlighted flaws with the gauge, including the use of GDP, which includes government sector activity that isn’t tied to corporate profits or future earnings.
    Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Your entire life is tied to your job.
    Anniek Bao, CNBC, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • These gaps have long hindered the growth of private assets in investor portfolios.
    Henry Fernandez, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Lower mortgage rates, which have fallen in recent weeks in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut rates for the first time since December 2024, are helping get buyers back to the market—but experts think that a government shutdown might hinder their return.
    Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Manacle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manacle. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

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