shackle
a ring or other fastening, as of iron, for securing the wrist, ankle, etc.; fetter.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
the U-shaped bar of a padlock, one end of which is pivoted or sliding, the other end of which can be released, as for passing through a staple, and then fastened, as for securing a hasp.
any of various fastening or coupling devices.
Often shackles. anything that serves to prevent freedom of procedure, thought, etc.
to put a shackle or shackles on; confine or restrain by a shackle or shackles.
to fasten or couple with a shackle.
to restrain in action, thought, etc., as by restrictions; restrict the freedom of.
Origin of shackle
1Other words for shackle
1 | chain, manacle, handcuff, gyve, bilboes |
5 | obstacle, obstruction, impediment, encumbrance |
6 | restrict, fetter, chain, handcuff, hobble |
8 | trammel, impede, slow, stultify, dull |
Opposites for shackle
Other words from shackle
- shackler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use shackle in a sentence
That’s not possible without a recovery strap and shackles, and relying on someone else’s equipment to perform such a dangerous task is never a good idea.
Fewer women are shackled during labor and delivery (PDF), though this still occurs.
One prisoner, who was left naked and shackled to a cold floor, died of suspected hypothermia.
Detainees there were subject to sleep deprivation, shackled to bars with their hands above their heads.
He was kept in total darkness, kept cold, had music blasted at him and was shackled and hooded.
Some detainees were forced to walk around naked, or shackled with their hands above their heads.
The Most Gruesome Moments in the CIA ‘Torture Report’ | Shane Harris, Tim Mak | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd those who once more shackled his wrists ostentatiously wiped their hands up and down the wrappings on their thighs afterwards.
Star Born | Andre NortonAccordingly 574 the officers shackled him and pinioning him, haled him along in irons and entered the city with him.
Alaeddin and the Enchanted Lamp | John PayneWhereupon the Sultan bade sundry of his eunuchs and officers go straightway fetch him bound and shackled.
Alaeddin and the Enchanted Lamp | John PayneThen a consuming anger flared in him,—anger against the past by which he was still shackled.
The Hidden Places | Bertrand W. SinclairWe rode madly along it, so that, riding shackled and woman-fashion, I had hard work to keep my seat.
The Yeoman Adventurer | George W. Gough
British Dictionary definitions for shackle
/ (ˈʃækəl) /
(often plural) a metal ring or fastening, usually part of a pair used to secure a person's wrists or ankles; fetter
(often plural) anything that confines or restricts freedom
a rope, tether, or hobble for an animal
a U-shaped bracket, the open end of which is closed by a bolt (shackle pin), used for securing ropes, chains, etc
to confine with or as if with shackles
to fasten or connect with a shackle
Origin of shackle
1Derived forms of shackle
- shackler, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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