hamstrung

[ ham-struhng ]

/ ˈhæmˌstrʌŋ /

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adjective

having been made powerless or useless; thwarted: The candidates also face a housing market crisis, subway strikes, and a hamstrung government.

having had the hamstring tendon cut: She fell like a hamstrung deer.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of hamstring.

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Origin of hamstrung

Consumers, hamstrung by low confidence and a weak recovery, are reluctant to spend and borrow.
Bad News for People Who Like Bad News|Daniel Gross|December 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Quinn has at times seemed hamstrung about how to address the issue of gender.
As Christine Quinn Fades, Why Aren’t More Women Winning?|David Freedlander|September 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Hamstrung by the lower standards of the boom years, it reported that it was still coping with the overhang of the bubble.
Freddie Mac’s Profits Obscure Housing-Boom Damage|Daniel Gross|March 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But Netanyahu may be hamstrung by a lack of international support, reports Dan Ephron.
Large Israeli Offensive in Gaza Looms After Hamas Rocket Attacks|Dan Ephron|November 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The book presents a nightmare: socialists have taken over, and they keep anyone the least bit creative hamstrung with regulations.
The Search for Serious Literary Fiction for Republicans|James McGirk|November 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
A wolf would have hamstrung his opponent and killed him at his leisure; but foxes rarely fight to the death.
Wild Folk|Samuel Scoville
This was done; he was hamstrung, and then set on a certain small island near the shore, called Sævarstad.
The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson|Saemund Sigfusson and Snorre Sturleson
Wasn't it going to be nice to live in a world without punctured eardrums and hamstrung nerves?
Cue for Quiet|Thomas L. Sherred
For many minutes the bull stood motionless, his hamstrung quarter sinking lower and lower.
Kazan|James Oliver Curwood
Paphnutius, besides, came limping on one leg, his left having been hamstrung.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 03|Various