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
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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
as in stifles
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
strangled a gasp of surprise upon hearing the news
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of strangles
Nate comes back to life and strangles Cassie in a dark green Bottega Veneta suit, then Maddy saves her.
—
Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 29 May 2026
Over-regulation strangles the economy!
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 28 May 2026
Ground cover plants around trees can lead to root girdling—where the cover essentially strangles the tree, threatening its health.
—Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 30 Apr. 2026
As Iran strangles the Strait of Hormuz, countries have scrambled for alternative routes.
—Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
As Grace looks on in horror, her soon-to-be husband strangles Ursula and snaps her neck.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Mostly, though, Boland strangles batters with his suffocating and deadly-accurate line and length.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
What starts as an innocent father/daughter college visit takes a shocking turn when Tony brutally strangles a Mob turncoat.
—Dan Snierson, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Dec. 2025
What worked at ten employees strangles progress at one hundred.
—Brent Gleeson, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 29 May 2026
Over-regulation strangles the economy!
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 28 May 2026
Ground cover plants around trees can lead to root girdling—where the cover essentially strangles the tree, threatening its health.
—Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 30 Apr. 2026
As Iran strangles the Strait of Hormuz, countries have scrambled for alternative routes.
—Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
As Grace looks on in horror, her soon-to-be husband strangles Ursula and snaps her neck.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Mostly, though, Boland strangles batters with his suffocating and deadly-accurate line and length.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
What starts as an innocent father/daughter college visit takes a shocking turn when Tony brutally strangles a Mob turncoat.
—Dan Snierson, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Dec. 2025
What worked at ten employees strangles progress at one hundred.
—Brent Gleeson, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strangles
Verb
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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
-
Not the one who chokes in the playoffs.—
Geoff Clark OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Micromanagement stifles creativity, motivation, and productivity.—
Maria Ross,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
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That stifles competition at home and, with China’s dependence on global consumption, raises concerns about dumping and deflation abroad.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
14 May 2026
Verb
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The tension suffocates as He-Man reaches for his Power Sword, but Skeletor isn't backing down here either.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
3 June 2026
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More than the page itself, the routine summons the part of his conscience that survives on muscle memory and suffocates uncertainty.—
Joel Lorenzi,
New York Times,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
Cardboard suppresses weeds, enriches soil, and is useful for new garden beds as sheet mulching or a base layer.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
18 June 2026
-
There is no reason to think that the money will flow to schools and hospitals or provide any benefit to the Iranian people that the regime still suppresses.—
Daniel B. Shapiro,
The Atlantic,
17 June 2026
Verb
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Up in the attic, a melty miasma smothers the thick winter coats, which hurt me to even look at.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
15 June 2026
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But needy, possessive Nikki smothers Bear, and what plays out is a horrifying tale of obsessive love gone wrong — sour, curdled and violent.—
Katie Walsh,
Twin Cities,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
Dark wood furniture swallows light and takes up floor space in hallways.—
Shagun Khare,
The Spruce,
7 June 2026
-
Infection can happen when someone accidentally swallows contaminated water from pools, splashpads, lakes, or rivers.—
Justin Laube,
EverydayHealth.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Drenching the nest and surrounding area with water drowns workers and possibly the queen, which disrupts the colony.—
Barbara Gillette,
The Spruce,
10 June 2026
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The more militants are killed, the deeper the city drowns in militant Shia iconography.—
Nabil Salih,
Time,
26 May 2026
Verb
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An agent that cannot reliably query real-time pricing and inventory, or that cannot preserve brand logic through a checkout flow, destroys the value that luxury merchants have spent decades building.—
Josipa Majic Predin,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
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April freeze destroys crops Early on the morning of April 21, temperatures in Maryland dropped into the low 20s after weeks of unseasonably warm weather.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Strangles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strangles. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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