1
as in chain
usually manacles plural
something that physically prevents free movement
manacles prevented the bear from roaming beyond a very small area
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in obstacle
something that makes movement or progress difficult
the warring groups need to shake off the manacle of their troubled past and learn to live with one another in peace
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to bind
to confine or restrain with or as if with chains
manacled the prisoner to the wall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to hamper
to create difficulty for the work or activity of
in this situation, the police are manacled by unnecessary regulations
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of manacle
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
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
21 Jan. 2026
And single file and manacled is exactly how 238 Venezuelans were frog-marched into El Salvador’s prisons last March, expelled from the U.S. without trial.
—
Time,
10 Sep. 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
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
King appeared in a gray and white, striped prison suit, with his hands manacled at his waist.
—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
21 Jan. 2026
And single file and manacled is exactly how 238 Venezuelans were frog-marched into El Salvador’s prisons last March, expelled from the U.S. without trial.
—
Time,
10 Sep. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manacle
Noun
-
Meanwhile, his younger brother opted for a more casual look, donning a white tank top, jeans, a leather belt, and a dangling chain, just a month after attending the Dior Cruise Show in Los Angeles on May 13.
-
Fatty acids are long chains of carbon surrounded by hydrogen atoms.
Noun
-
There was an element of cynicism, but not on the part of determined prosecutors who overcame obstacles and brought the case to guilty pleas by three defendants and the conviction on 21 counts of the public official who ignited the scandal.
-
But obstacles veered her away from art for years.
Verb
-
That had Ament walking on stage at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in a Heat hat despite being bound for the Bucks, with Miami selecting him for Milwaukee and the move to the Bucks still pending until July 6.
-
The measure, which was largely symbolic and not actually binding, passed the House of Representatives weeks ago.
Verb
-
Brown was hampered by a back injury in college, but that wasn’t enough to scare away the Nets.
-
Investors are advised to avoid ASA, as its future performance appears hampered by both gold's current stagnation and management issues.
Noun
-
Prescott-Hansen posted a $50,000 bond and was released without conditions.
-
And when a bond is dumped, its yield — or the interest the government must pay new investors in those same bonds — rises.
Noun
-
However, there are still some hurdles to surmount, particularly financing.
-
Here’s how experts suggest overcoming these hurdles.
Verb
-
Competing in his third World Cup, Kane had tied Lineker’s decades-old record last week with two goals in England’s 4-2 win over Croatia to open the 2026 tournament.
-
Bravo, the diaspora director at the foreign ministry, told CNN that the Peruvian government’s hands are tied.
Verb
-
Despite a 2019 public renunciation, MSV secretly governs 70% of public firms, hindering true economic progress.
-
Wilson was also hindered by personal failings.
Cite this Entry
“Manacle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manacle. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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