Synonyms of shackling

shackling

verb

present participle of shackle

1

as in binding

to confine or restrain with or as if with chains

unwilling to shackle the dogs to the wall of the house

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

2

as in hampering

to create difficulty for the work or activity of

shackled by poverty and ignorance

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shackling

Both players played well, Romero shackling Jude Bellingham for much of the evening, Spence producing a famous recovery tackle on Giuliano Simeone when England were 1-0 up. — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2026

Khushboo Gupta, vice president of policy at PETA India, said the aesthetic appeal of live elephants doesn’t justify shackling, beating and separating them from their families. — ABC News, 3 July 2026

In 2019, David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty to torture and years of abuse that included shackling some of their 13 children at their home in California, starving them and providing only a minimal education. — Julie Carr Smyth, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026

The Baltimore region has suffered too long from underinvestment in transit services — which is shackling economic growth, harming the environment and constraining quality of life for families. — Brandon Scott, Baltimore Sun, 25 Feb. 2026

Men are often the ones in those ICE facilities who are shackling and chaining detainees. — Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 7 Feb. 2026

In Wisconsin, a bill that would restrict shackling inmates while in labor — something most states already ban — has repeatedly failed to pass the state Legislature. — Jon Schuppe, NBC news, 18 Dec. 2025