1
as in to choke
to be or cause to be killed by lack of breathable air
the gull got tangled in a piece of fishing line on the beach and was strangled
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to stifle
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
strangled a gasp of surprise upon hearing the news
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of strangle
Trade and wider interchange with China contracted, while long-term economic sanctions under the United Nations continued slowly to strangle commerce.
—
Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2026
Diggs was found not guilty in May of assaulting and strangling former employee Mila Adams.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
Dolan saw this night, this big New York moment, and strangled the fun out of it.
—Candace Buckner, New York Times, 9 June 2026
After the brothers were arrested in Romania, the journalists Jamie Tahsin and Matt Shea reported on the women’s stories for Vice News, and another woman said that she, too, had been strangled and raped by Tate in 2014.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for strangle
Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2026
Diggs was found not guilty in May of assaulting and strangling former employee Mila Adams.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
Dolan saw this night, this big New York moment, and strangled the fun out of it.
—Candace Buckner, New York Times, 9 June 2026
After the brothers were arrested in Romania, the journalists Jamie Tahsin and Matt Shea reported on the women’s stories for Vice News, and another woman said that she, too, had been strangled and raped by Tate in 2014.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for strangle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strangle
Verb
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Police say after entering the store, Tabor allegedly randomly picked out a woman and started choking her.—
Joy Benedict,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
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Connecticut’s largest cities also struggle with the state’s highest property tax rates, which chokes business growth and, in turn, shifts more burden onto residential owners.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
19 June 2026
Verb
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The Valkyries seemed equally eager to welcome the rookie to the league’s most intimidating road environment, and succeeded in stifling the 23-year-old guard.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
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When fact and fiction run together, when folks seek to stifle speech, limit access to education, devalue diversity, erase the inconvenient parts of our history.—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
Verb
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Nevertheless—as Rooney often captures well in her novels—the reason that sharing life with men can feel like slow violence is ultimately not the men themselves (not in many cases, at least) but, rather, the hierarchies that, flowing through us all, elevate them and suffocate us.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2026
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But against a suffocating new-look defense spearheaded by Williams, the Valkyries stifled Plum to the tune of a season-low nine points on 3-of-10 shooting and just 2 of 3 from the free throw line.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
16 June 2026
Verb
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But suppressing undesirable emotions is not only impossible but also not all that helpful.—
Dr. Deepika Chopra,
Flow Space,
16 June 2026
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Among the combinations studied, the team found that electron leakage could be suppressed at dimensions below 4 nanometers, suggesting future transistors may be scaled even further than current technologies allow.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
16 June 2026
Verb
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The creamy, rich, and cheesy potato dish is perfect alongside a short stack of pancakes smothered in their addictive butter syrup.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
12 June 2026
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One night in 1983, the two smothered Smith’s kitchen in corn kernels.—
Tanya Babbar,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 June 2026
Verb
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At this stage of his career, that would be a difficult pill to swallow.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
20 June 2026
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Nowadays, the land surrounding the 67-year-old fruit stand is paved over as cookie-cutter townhomes swallow the area.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
19 June 2026
Verb
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Also keep in mind that blasting noise through your AirPods or speakers may drown out some very important other sounds — like approaching wildlife or mad rattlesnakes.—
Amber Harding OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
14 June 2026
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Skokie police said first responders began lifesaving measures at the scene, and the person who nearly drowned was stabilized at a local hospital.—
Dylan Olsen,
CBS News,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Strangle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strangle. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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