Synonyms of strangling

strangling

verb

present participle of strangle

1

as in choking

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

• choking
• drowning
• stifling
• suffocating
• smothering
• destroying
• asphyxiating
• throttling
• slaying
• garroting
• dispatching
• felling
• croaking
• doing in

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breathing
• inhaling
• expiring
• inspiring
• reviving
• exhaling
• resuscitating

2

as in throttling

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

• choking
• throttling
• suffocating
• garroting
• asphyxiating
• stifling
• smothering
• scragging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restoring
• reviving
• resuscitating

3

as in stifling

to refrain from openly showing or uttering

strangled a gasp of surprise upon hearing the news

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stifling
• suppressing
• swallowing
• smothering
• repressing
• controlling
• submerging
• containing
• choking (back)
• managing
• holding back
• sinking
• pocketing
• curbing
• governing
• quashing
• checking
• quelling
• bridling
• muffling
• squelching
• bottling up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• expressing
• releasing
• venting
• taking out
• unleashing
• loosing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of strangling

After strangling her children, Lindsay Clancy cut her wrists and throat and jumped from that window, testimony on Monday showed. — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 29 July 2026

Prosecutors accused the Massachusetts mother of strangling her three children — Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan — to death at their home in a Boston suburb in 2023. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 28 July 2026

Another woman also accuses Tristan Tate, 38, of strangling her unconscious and then raping her, according to the filings. — Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 22 July 2026

Jury selection got underway July 20 in the murder trial of a Massachusetts mother accused of fatally strangling her three children, a case that rocked the community of Duxbury and shed a spotlight on a rare mental health condition. — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 20 July 2026

Prosecutors allege that Clancy premeditated their murders by sending her husband out for takeout food before strangling the children and attempting to take her own life. — Kristina Rex, CBS News, 13 July 2026

Prosecutors plan to argue that Lindsay carefully planned and plotted her actions by sending her husband out of the house before strangling her three children. — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026

Clancy was charged with three counts of murder for allegedly strangling 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan in January in 2024. — Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 13 July 2026

In December 2023, Sarah Steele accused Jacob Wulfson, a US air force captain also based at Lakenheath, of drugging, assaulting and strangling her after meeting via a dating app. — Will Barker, TheWeek, 8 July 2026