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strangles

[strang-guh lz]
noun (used with a singular verb) Veterinary Pathology.
  1. distemper1(def 1b).
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Origin of strangles

1590–1600; obsolete strangle act of strangling + -s3

strangle

[strang-guhl]
verb (used with object), stran·gled, stran·gling.
  1. 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.
  2. to kill by stopping the breath in any manner; choke; stifle; suffocate.
  3. to prevent the continuance, growth, rise, or action of; suppress: Censorship strangles a free press.
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verb (used without object), stran·gled, stran·gling.
  1. to be choked, stifled, or suffocated.
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Origin of strangle

1250–1300; Middle English strangelen < Old French estrangler < Latin strangulāre < Greek strangalân, derivative of strangálē halter, akin to strangós twisted
Related formsstran·gler, nounstran·gling·ly, adverbun·stran·gled, adjective

Synonyms

1. garrote, throttle, choke. 2. smother. 3. check, repress, gag, muzzle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

inhibit, smother, suffocate, restrain, gag, kill, asphyxiate, throttle, subdue, muffle, shush, repress, suppress, squelch, strangulate, quelch

Examples from the Web for strangles

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Exclusiveness is a constricting cord that strangles progress.

  • Oh, I know all the problems of security and how it strangles work.

    Security

    Ernest M. Kenyon

  • He tears away the golden cord from his hat, and strangles himself.

    The Robbers

    Friedrich Schiller

  • It comes right up to other people, strangles them, or drags them along with it.

    The Goose Man

    Jacob Wassermann

  • It stifles the spirit of progress and strangles its pioneers.

    Flowers of Freethought

    George W. Foote

British Dictionary definitions for strangles

strangles

noun
  1. (functioning as singular) an acute bacterial disease of horses caused by infection with Streptococcus equi, characterized by inflammation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, resulting in abscesses and a nasal dischargeAlso called: equine distemper
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Word Origin

C18: from strangle

strangle

verb
  1. (tr) to kill by compressing the windpipe; throttle
  2. (tr) to prevent or inhibit the growth or development ofto strangle originality
  3. (tr) to suppress (an utterance) by or as if by swallowing suddenlyto strangle a cry
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See also strangles

Word Origin

C13: via Old French, ultimately from Greek strangalē a halter
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

Word Origin and History for strangles

strangle

v.

c.1300, from Old French estrangler, from Latin strangulare "to choke, stifle, check, constrain," from Greek strangalan "choke, twist," from strangale "a halter, cord, lace," related to strangos "twisted," from PIE root *strenk- "tight, narrow; pull tight, twist" (see strain (v.)). Related: Strangled; strangling.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
strangles in Medicine

strangle

(străng′gəl)
v.
  1. To compress the trachea so as to prevent sufficient passage of air; suffocate.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.