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

The prosecution says Clancy planned and executed the murders by sending her husband, Patrick Clancy, out of the house on errands, then strangling the children with exercise bands in the basement of their Duxbury home. — Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026

Clancy jumped out a window after strangling the children to death and was paralyzed in the fall. — Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026

After strangling her children, Clancy jumped from a second-story window and remains paralyzed from the waist down. — Michael Casey, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026

Lindsay has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the strangling deaths of her three young children in 2023. — Lindsay Kimble, PEOPLE, 18 Aug. 2026

Clancy admitted to strangling to death her three children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, who was just 8 months old. — Kelsie Cairns, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Conahan was arrested in February 1997, accused of raping Montgomery, strangling him and cutting off his genitals to eliminate DNA tracing. — Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

After strangling the children in the basement of her home with exercise bands, Clancy attempted to kill herself by jumping out of the window of her Duxbury home, leaving her paralyzed. — Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 3 Aug. 2026

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