Adjacent Words

Strangle definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STRANGLE, v.t. [L.]
1. To choke; to suffocate; to destroy life by stopping respiration.
Our Saxon ancestors compelled the adulteress to strangle herself.
2. To suppress; to hinder from birth or appearance.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: kill by squeezing the throat of so as to cut off the air; "he tried to strangle his opponent"; "A man in Boston has been strangling several dozen prostitutes" [syn: strangle, strangulate, throttle]
2: conceal or hide; "smother a yawn"; "muffle one's anger"; "strangle a yawn" [syn: smother, stifle, strangle, muffle, repress]
3: die from strangulation
4: prevent the progress or free movement of; "He was hampered in his efforts by the bad weather"; "the imperialist nation wanted to strangle the free trade between the two small countries" [syn: hamper, halter, cramp, strangle]
5: constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing [syn: choke, strangle]
6: struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged" [syn: gag, choke, strangle, suffocate]

Merriam Webster's

verb (strangled; strangling) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French estrangler, from Latin strangulare, from Greek strangalan, from strangal? halter — more at strain Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to choke to death by compressing the throat with something (as a hand or rope) ; throttle b. to obstruct seriously or fatally the normal breathing of c. stifle 2. to suppress or hinder the rise, expression, or growth of <repression strangles free speech> intransitive verb 1. to become strangled 2. to die from or as if from interference with breathing • strangler noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 squeeze the windpipe or neck of, esp. so as to kill. 2 hamper or suppress (a movement, impulse, cry, etc.). Derivatives: strangler n. Etymology: ME f. OF estrangler f. L strangulare f. Gk straggalao f. straggale halter: cf. straggos twisted

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strangle Stran"gle, v. i. To be strangled, or suffocated.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strangle Stran"gle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Strangled; p. pr. & vb. n. Strangling.] [OF. estrangler, F. ['e]trangler, L. strangulare, Gr. ?, ?, fr. ? a halter; and perhaps akin to E. string, n. Cf. Strain, String.] 1. To compress the windpipe of (a person or animal) until death results from stoppage of respiration; to choke to death by compressing the throat, as with the hand or a rope. Our Saxon ancestors compelled the adulteress to strangle herself. --Ayliffe. 2. To stifle, choke, or suffocate in any manner. Shall I not then be stifled in the vault, . . . And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes? --Shak. 3. To hinder from appearance; to stifle; to suppress. ``Strangle such thoughts.'' --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(strangles, strangling, strangled) 1. To strangle someone means to kill them by squeezing their throat tightly so that they cannot breathe. He tried to strangle a border policeman and steal his gun... = throttle VERB: V n 2. To strangle something means to prevent it from succeeding or developing. The country's economic plight is strangling its scientific institutions... VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Choke, throttle, suffocate. 2. Suppress, keep back.

Moby Thesaurus

OD, abbreviate, asphyxiate, bang, bar, barricade, batten, batten down, be killed, behead, block, block up, blockade, bolt, bottle up, bowstring, burke, burn, button, button up, censor, chock, choke, choke off, circumscribe, clamp down on, clap, close, close off, close tight, close up, coarct, compact, compress, concentrate, condense, consolidate, constrict, constringe, contain, contract, cork, cork up, cover, crack down on, cramp, crowd, crucify, crush, curtail, damp down, debar, decapitate, decollate, decrease, defenestrate, deflate, disarm, dog, draw, draw in, draw together, drown, electrocute, enchain, execute, extinguish, famish, fasten, fold, fold up, gag, garrote, guillotine, hamstring, handcuff, hobble, hog-tie, hold down, inflict capital punishment, jam, jump on, keep down, keep under, key, kill, knit, knock out, lapidate, latch, lock, lock out, lock up, manacle, muffle, muzzle, narrow, obstruct, occlude, pack, padlock, paralyze, plumb, pour water on, prostrate, pucker, pucker up, purse, put down, put out, put to death, quash, quell, quench, reduce, repress, seal, seal off, seal up, secure, shoot, shorten, shush, shut, shut down on, shut off, shut out, shut the door, shut tight, shut up, silence, sit down on, sit on, slam, smash, smother, snap, snuff out, solidify, squash, squeeze, squeeze shut, squelch, stamp out, stanch, starve, stifle, stone, stop the breath, stop up, strangulate, stultify, subdue, suffocate, suppress, throttle, trample out, trample underfoot, truss up, wrinkle, zip up, zipper