strangled 1 of 2

past tense of strangle
1
as in suffocated
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

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2
as in throttled
to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe the boy complained that he was being strangled by his tie

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3

strangled

2 of 2

adjective

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 strangled
Adjective
Edwards had been raped and strangled. Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025 Police determined that the teenager had been raped and strangled to death. Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025 She had been raped and strangled. Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2025 She had been strangled with a bedsheet and Singleton's fingerprints were found on the screen of a bathroom window. Greg Norman, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2025 In March 1977, Rader strangled Shirley Vian, followed by Nancy Fox that December. Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025 Scott was convicted of participating in the 1981 murder of Larry Miner, who was tied up, beaten, strangled and stabbed. Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 30 Sep. 2025 That potential was strangled, Du Bois writes in this book, an essential look at governance and betrayal in America. Zephyr Teachout, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025 Orlando Mitchell also strangled Marion County Sheriff's Deputy John Durm to death inside the Marion County Jail's vehicle port on a return trip from a hospital. Jade Jackson, IndyStar, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strangled
Verb
  • Just moments before, Laurel had fed Scotty’s tie into the power shredder, which choked him to death.
    Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2025
  • The young girl allegedly told police she was beaten with belts, cords, and sticks, while she was also cut with scissors and choked with a belt, per ABC 13 citing the Sheriff's Office.
    Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • That could have stifled the Dodgers’ offensive night.
    Andy McCullough, New York Times, 14 Oct. 2025
  • However, the Bills quarterback was stifled by a stern Falcons defense at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, throwing 15-of-26 for 180 yards with two touchdowns and two picks.
    George Ramsay, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Room for Disagreement The UAE’s relationship with Israel has become strained in recent years over the devastation in Gaza and threats from some Israeli politicians to annex the West Bank — a move that would effectively end hopes for a Palestinian state.
    Yossi Shelley, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Ending the war will offer the Israeli leader relief from daily headlines of IDF casualties, strained reservist forces, increasing international isolation and severe economic damage – heavy burdens for electoral campaigns.
    Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Bouncing back from a brutal day at Florida last week, the Horns suffocated Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer (20 of 38 for 202 yards), sacking him five times and picking him thrice.
    Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
  • The real innovation being stifled today is the innovation that’ll never bloom, suffocated by vertical integration and acquisitions disguised as partnerships.
    Asad Ramzanali, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Onondagas support plans announced by the mayor of Syracuse in 2020 to remove the statue of Columbus, an Italian explorer who helped the Spanish establish a colonial foothold in the Caribbean and later suppressed revolts by Indigenous people.
    Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2025
  • The defense also argued that evidence recovered from the backpack Mangione was carrying when he was arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s should be suppressed.
    Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • There are black-and-white scenes from what appears to be a cracked Biblical drama featuring a levitating monk and, to the particular bafflement of the producer, a dancing Pulcinella.
    Guy Lodge, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
  • And everything’s not exactly rosy in the core business, which still is dealing with a cracked, state-by-state regulatory environment.
    Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • As commissioner Cathy Engelbert took the microphone to congratulate the Las Vegas Aces and crown them the WNBA champions, fans in Phoenix drowned out her message with relentless booing.
    Shannon Ryan, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
  • Linda’s unraveling escalates when her troubled client Caroline (Danielle Macdonald) emails her a video of Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who drowned her five children in 2001 after developing postpartum psychosis.
    Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Pointed gestures toward the lingering tension between Japan and Korea — and between those two countries and the rest of the planet — are drowned out by tiresome bickering and exaggerated gags, like a meaningful conversation swallowed into the sound of an airplane engine screaming overhead.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2025
  • But with the inability to do live shows for much of 2020-2021, and the meteoric growth of Matt Rife’s social media presence, many stand-ups swallowed their pride and bought a tripod.
    David Zucker, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Strangled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strangled. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

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