SHACKLING Synonyms: 117 Similar and Opposite Words

shackling

verb

present participle of shackle

as in binding

to confine or restrain with or as if with chains unwilling to shackle the dogs to the wall of the house

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as in hampering

to create difficulty for the work or activity of shackled by poverty and ignorance

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 shackling 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shackling

Verb

Within days of Secretary McMahon’s letter, conservative policy networks published turn-key model state legislation designed to convert these federal guidelines into binding state law.

— David Rosowsky, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Advertisement Anthropic, estimated to have less compute than OpenAI, claims not to feel this as the binding limit.

— Harry Booth, Time, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of binding

Verb

Delays connecting new power plants to the grid are hampering progress.

— Laurent Belsie, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Aug. 2026
Toub said the only scenario in which a rookie wouldn’t participate in special teams is because of an injury — such as the shoulder issue that’s currently hampering the Chiefs’ first-round draft pick, cornerback Mansoor Delane.

— Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of hampering

Verb

Benedict had a prior arrest on a charge of assault on a family or household member by impeding breath or circulation in 2023 in Collin County.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 July 2026
That number is expected to rise dramatically in the coming years, further impeding scientific discovery.

— Chris Young July 28, Refractor, 28 July 2026

Definition of impeding

Verb

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

Definition of handcuffing

Verb

Websites often attract unsuitable clients due to ineffective copy, hindering business growth.

— Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Banking, roads and internet services have largely been disrupted since then, hindering the flow of information, meaning Reuters could not independently verify the figure of over 30 dead given by the JAAC about the clashes around Rawalakot.

— Reuters, NBC news, 30 July 2026

Definition of hindering

Verb

Color, line, and texture all play important roles in making a small garden feel expansive and inviting or confining and cramped.

— Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2026
The dragging chains had worn away all soft earth and grass, confining the dogs to circles of hard dirt.

— Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 30 July 2026

Definition of confining

Verb

Former Portage Mayor James Snyder wants a federal appeals court to dismiss his case stemming from his November 2016 indictment, which included a charge of obstructing the IRS.

— Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026
The New Jersey facility has repeatedly been accused by state and local inspectors of obstructing health and safety inspections and has been the site of ongoing protests and detainee hunger strikes over food quality, overcrowding and medical care.

— Emma Bussey , Bill Melugin, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of obstructing

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shackles

shackling

shacks

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“Shackling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shackling. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of shackling

verb

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