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
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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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of strangles
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
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
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
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
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Iran war chokes Gulf’s helium exports The war in Iran is choking supplies of helium, vital for technologies from AI chatbots to MRI scanners.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
2 Apr. 2026
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Like other invasive plants, stinknet chokes native plants and increases fire risk.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Critics say that trademarking the name of a common business model stifles the still-nascent heirloom and specialty beans market — a growing community of companies, farmers and influencers trying to increase consumption of beans, one of the most climate- and health-friendly foods around.—
Tara Duggan,
San Francisco Chronicle,
2 Apr. 2026
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Nothing stifles a good time like being stressed about what is going on at home without any way to intervene.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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What did work in one of the older movies, though, was the Oxygen Destroyer device, which effectively suffocates the creature.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
27 Feb. 2026
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Complexity is exactly what suffocates scale.—
May Habib,
Fortune,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While El Niño often suppresses Atlantic hurricane activity, major storms can still make landfall.—
Brandi D. Addison,
USA Today,
8 Apr. 2026
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Some stuff just suppresses balls in play, after all.—
Eno Sarris,
New York Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The pieces knit together to form a cast iron surface that sheds water, smothers weeds and holds up for a long time.—
Paul Cappiello,
Louisville Courier Journal,
6 Mar. 2026
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On the latter, Bollywood royalty Asha Bhosle, 92, sings in Hindi of setting sail to the other side, but Albarn smothers her beneath heraldic bursts of Disneyfied psych-pop.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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What if Kirby finally swallows something too big?—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2026
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In Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 film Modern Times, a factory worker struggles to keep pace with an ever-accelerating assembly line—until the machine swallows him whole.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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As a beautiful, palpably anxious bride, Camila Morrone’s Rachel, walks down the aisle to her adoring groom, Nicky (Adam DiMarco), the sound of labored breathing nearly drowns out the music.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
26 Mar. 2026
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After 81 nearly drowns during an underwater drill, the regiment leaders (played by Dennis Quaid and Esai Morales) express concern that his PTSD from losing his brother might put him at risk or affect the team.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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For those who know the play well, some of Mantello’s choices are most striking, especially the horror here of the famous hotel-room scene with a tawdry lover (brutally played by Katherine Romans), an act born of loneliness that destroys a father’s relationship with his son forever.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
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Alzheimer’s disease, a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, affects more than 6 million Americans, most of them age 65 or older.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Strangles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strangles. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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