shackle

[shak-uhl]

noun

1. a ring or other fastening, as of iron, for securing the wrist, ankle, etc.; fetter.

   Synonyms: gyve, handcuff, manacle, chain

2. a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.

3. 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.

4. any of various fastening or coupling devices.

5. Often shackles. anything that serves to prevent freedom of procedure, thought, etc.

   Synonyms: encumbrance, impediment, obstruction, obstacle

verb (used with object)

shackled, shackling 

1. to put a shackle or shackles on; confine or restrain by a shackle or shackles.

   Synonyms: fetter, restrict, hobble, handcuff, chain
   Antonyms: free, liberate

2. to fasten or couple with a shackle.

3. to restrain in action, thought, etc., as by restrictions; restrict the freedom of.

   Synonyms: dull, stultify, slow, impede, trammel
   Antonyms: free, liberate

shackle

/ ˈʃækəl /

noun

1. (often plural) a metal ring or fastening, usually part of a pair used to secure a person's wrists or ankles; fetter

2. (often plural) anything that confines or restricts freedom

3. a rope, tether, or hobble for an animal

4. a U-shaped bracket, the open end of which is closed by a bolt ( shackle pin ), used for securing ropes, chains, etc

verb

1. to confine with or as if with shackles

2. to fasten or connect with a shackle

Other Word Forms

• shackler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shackle¹

before 1000; (noun) Middle English schakle, schakyl ( le ); Old English sceacel fetter; cognate with Low German schakel hobble, Old Norse skǫkull wagon pole, (v.) late Middle English schaklyn, derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shackle¹

Old English sceacel; related to Dutch schakel, Old Norse skokull wagon pole, Latin cingere to surround

Example Sentences

He was never charged and his lawyers say he was shackled to his bed for several days and couldn’t speak privately with doctors or legal counsel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Released from the shackles of captaincy, a weight lifted from those once-slumped shoulders.

Read more on BBC

They had previously been held in a US detention facility before being flown out on a US military plane in shackles, their lawyers said.

Read more on BBC

He was also notable as a recruiter of aimless youths who wanted to be tough guys; for them the Nazi Storm Trooper units were the place to cast off the shackles of civilized inhibitions.

Read more on Salon

“Go do the revolution, baby,” Bob says as Perfidia marches out the door, her postpartum depression urging her to prove that she’s more than an aching body shackled to a baby.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bind 
• confine 
• cuff 
• handcuff 
• tie up