strangle
Americanverb (used with object)
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to kill by squeezing the throat in order to compress the windpipe and prevent the intake of air, as with the hands or a tightly drawn cord.
-
to kill by stopping the breath in any manner; choke; stifle; suffocate.
- Synonyms:
- smother
-
to prevent the continuance, growth, rise, or action of; suppress.
Censorship strangles a free press.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to kill by compressing the windpipe; throttle
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(tr) to prevent or inhibit the growth or development of
to strangle originality
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(tr) to suppress (an utterance) by or as if by swallowing suddenly
to strangle a cry
Other Word Forms
- strangler noun
- stranglingly adverb
- unstrangled adjective
Etymology
Origin of strangle
1250–1300; Middle English strangelen < Old French estrangler < Latin strangulāre < Greek strangalân, derivative of strangálē halter, akin to strangós twisted
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In fact, the straddle or strangle buy here is worth looking at.
From MarketWatch
Rowan heard a strangled gasp from somewhere behind him.
From Literature
Outplayed with bat and ball, they were strangled by Pakistan's spinners.
From Barron's
It happens when a nerve is strangled by a blood vessel in the face, with it often misdiagnosed as toothache, and attacks caused by something as simple as a gust of wind.
From BBC
Gelifen, stowed above him among the leaves, gave a soft, strangled peep.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
