strangles

present tense third-person singular of strangle
1
as in chokes
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3

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 strangles What worked at ten employees strangles progress at one hundred. Brent Gleeson, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025 At that point, both Hsiao-Lee’s life and our perspective open up toward something more hopeful, even if plenty of turmoil — including another unbearable scene in which Chiang nearly strangles Chuan to death — continues back home. Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strangles
Verb
  • Hybrid-resilient architecture—local backups that can kick in like muscle memory when the cloud chokes.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • On the ground, there’s a war of grappling, chokes, and limb breaks, and Oliveira is one of the best to ever fight it.
    Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • The judge found that Google has been engaging in behavior that stifles competition to the detriment of online publishers that depend on the system for revenue.
    Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Trump silencing free speech stifles our democracy.
    Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Just like particles behave differently when observed, your business suffocates under micromanagement.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Rather than conjuring a mood of bracing inexorability, this linear focus only suffocates what might be an interesting debate, as a man of the modern world weighs his values against those of a woman raised in atavistic isolation.
    Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Lower Stress Chronic stress suppresses your immune response and can eventually lead to an increase in inflammation.
    Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, Flow Space, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Mulch suppresses weeds, retains moisture in the soil, and adds nutrients back to the soil, too.
    Lauren David, Southern Living, 27 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Taroko Gorge, however, carves breathtaking grandeur from marble stone; a natural cathedral of cliffs, where suspension bridges sway above rapids and swallows dart through narrow canyons.
    Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Neurocysticercosis occurs after a person swallows pork tapeworm eggs, according to the CDC.
    Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The line in Swift's song and The Life of a Showgirl's cover art appears to be inspired by a Victorian-era painting that depicts the scene in Hamlet when Ophelia goes crazy and falls into a stream and drowns after learning Hamlet killed her father.
    Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
  • If someone truly disrupts — won’t stop, drowns out others — escort them out and move on.
    Eric Preven, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • These newly aware companies’ high-speed trading of financial projects destroys the Earth itself, forcing humans to flee to the margins of the solar system.
    Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Most of the time, a person’s immune system identifies and destroys these cells.
    Elizabeth Yuko, Flow Space, 24 Sep. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Strangles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strangles. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on strangles

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!