strangles

[strang-guh lz]

noun (used with a singular verb) Veterinary Pathology.

Origin of strangles

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

strangle

[strang-guhl]

verb (used with object), stran·gled, stran·gling.

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.

to prevent the continuance, growth, rise, or action of; suppress: Censorship strangles a free press.

verb (used without object), stran·gled, stran·gling.

to be choked, stifled, or suffocated.

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 for strangle

1. garrote, throttle, choke. 2. smother. 3. check, repress, gag, muzzle.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for strangles

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

Examples from the Web for strangles

Contemporary Examples of strangles

As we saw when the B-2 came under attack the moment that it was unveiled, it strangles the pro-bomber case.
Is the Pentagon’s $55 Billion Stealth Bomber Too Big a Secret?
Bill Sweetman
September 22, 2014

Historical Examples of strangles

Exclusiveness is a constricting cord that strangles progress.
The Better Germany in War Time
Harold Picton
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

(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

Word Origin for strangles

C18: from strangle

strangle

verb

(tr) to kill by compressing the windpipe; throttle

(tr) to prevent or inhibit the growth or development ofto strangle originality

(tr) to suppress (an utterance) by or as if by swallowing suddenlyto strangle a cry

Word Origin for strangle

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

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.

strangles in Medicine

strangle

[străng′gəl]

v.

To compress the trachea so as to prevent sufficient passage of air; suffocate.