Synonyms of tied-up

tied-up 1 of 2

adjective

as in engaged

involved in often constant activity

we'll be tied-up with work for the next several days

Synonyms & Similar Words

• engaged
• busy
• diligent
• employed
• occupied
• working
• preoccupied
• active
• bustling
• industrious
• immersed
• assiduous
• laborious
• absorbed
• humming
• hopping
• operating
• concentrating
• sedulous
• functioning
• operational
• knee-deep
• running
• animated
• focused
• going
• flourishing
• lively
• buzzing
• vibrant
• engrossed
• swamped
• happening
• thriving
• operative
• functional
• alive
• energetic
• living
• hardworking
• intent
• vigorous
• astir
• tireless
• indefatigable
• untiring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unemployed
• free
• idle
• unoccupied
• inactive
• lifeless
• dormant
• latent
• sleepy
• dead
• inert
• passive
• asleep
• quiescent
• slow
• unbusy
• dull
• inoperative
• nonoperating

tied up

2 of 2

verb

past tense of tie up

as in hampered

to create difficulty for the work or activity of

an accident is tying up traffic at 5th and Broadway

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hampered
• hindered
• impeded
• embarrassed
• obstructed
• interfered (with)
• held back
• handicapped
• inhibited
• delayed
• blocked
• cramped
• stymied
• encumbered
• shackled
• handcuffed
• disrupted
• trammeled
• cramped one's style
• clogged
• held up
• restrained
• tied
• hobbled
• short-circuited
• manacled
• fettered
• constrained
• gave a hard time
• bound
• hog-tied
• thwarted
• bogged (down)
• frustrated
• checked
• curbed
• retained
• retarded
• stifled
• reined
• tethered
• balked
• arrested
• confined
• braked
• chained
• leashed
• hemmed (in)
• choked
• strangled
• baffled
• barricaded
• hedged (in)
• haltered
• blockaded
• foiled
• mired
• derailed
• sabotaged
• roadblocked
• smothered
• stumped
• suffocated
• repressed
• muzzled
• suppressed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• assisted
• helped
• aided
• facilitated
• opened
• released
• cleared
• made way
• freed
• liberated
• untied
• unplugged
• loosened
• encouraged
• promoted
• smoothed
• unstopped
• unclogged
• furthered

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tied-up

Verb

Can’t get too tied up into it, fluky outcomes and stuff like that. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2026

Forces were also sent to Los Angeles and Chicago, though those missions became tied up in legal challenges and troops were eventually withdrawn. — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

Marcy had her hair tied up with a bow made from nylon cord and was bent over a fold-up kitchen counter rearranging wet garbage. — Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026

Many of those directives are now tied up in court, where Blanche’s DOJ will have to defend them ahead of the midterms. — Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Nearly all of Scott’s fortune is tied up in Amazon stock, and Amazon has been on a historic run. — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

New characters and backstory details are dropped in before existing loose ends are tied up, resulting in unclear motivations and convoluted layers of subplot that, ultimately, do not prove relevant enough to have been worth disentangling. — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 9 Aug. 2026

One staffer who is still at the CDC said much of her anger is tied up in knowing that Kennedy’s feelings about vaccines are similar to the shooter’s. — Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026

Perhaps most eager among them are Tegna, the parent company of Atlanta’s 11Alive, and Nexstar, which are undergoing a merger currently tied up in court. — Savannah Sicurella, AJC.com, 6 Aug. 2026