as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose
handcuffed by a dearth of funding, the preservation society can do little but stand by as these historic structures deteriorate
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in bound
to confine or restrain with or as if with chains
wanted to take the trip, but was handcuffed by her responsibility to watch her ailing father
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hampered
to create difficulty for the work or activity of
the fear that the new mandatory, standardized tests will handcuff the state's teachers, who will have to specifically tailor their lesson plans for the test
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of handcuffed
Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 31 Mar. 2026
While conducting crowd control, Dugan allegedly used his espantoon against a juvenile's throat, put his knee on the juvenile's stomach and arms, and stepped on the juvenile's arm before attempting to turn him onto his stomach to be handcuffed.
—Adam Thompson, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
While Curry was handcuffed and helplessly lying on the ground, Dickerson punched him multiple times while Billups-Taylor kicked him, according to the court document.
—Deborah Laverty, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
One of the people on the flight said they were handcuffed until after crossing the border.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
In November, two days before Thanksgiving, Florida Highway Patrol officers took Olga from her family’s landscaping service truck and handcuffed her in front of her children.
—Tim Padgett, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
Aliyah Henderson, dressed in blue and handcuffed behind her back, made a brief video appearance before a judge in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 26 Mar. 2026
That included Americans who have been handcuffed, held at gunpoint or simply prevented from leaving their location.
—Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026
After transfers to California, Texas and Louisiana, he was handcuffed and driven to an airport in the middle of the night.
—ABC News, 21 Mar. 2026
Verb
She was then taken into custody, handcuffed and secured in the rear seat of the patrol vehicle.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 31 Mar. 2026
While conducting crowd control, Dugan allegedly used his espantoon against a juvenile's throat, put his knee on the juvenile's stomach and arms, and stepped on the juvenile's arm before attempting to turn him onto his stomach to be handcuffed.
—Adam Thompson, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
While Curry was handcuffed and helplessly lying on the ground, Dickerson punched him multiple times while Billups-Taylor kicked him, according to the court document.
—Deborah Laverty, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
One of the people on the flight said they were handcuffed until after crossing the border.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
In November, two days before Thanksgiving, Florida Highway Patrol officers took Olga from her family’s landscaping service truck and handcuffed her in front of her children.
—Tim Padgett, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
Aliyah Henderson, dressed in blue and handcuffed behind her back, made a brief video appearance before a judge in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 26 Mar. 2026
That included Americans who have been handcuffed, held at gunpoint or simply prevented from leaving their location.
—Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026
After transfers to California, Texas and Louisiana, he was handcuffed and driven to an airport in the middle of the night.
—ABC News, 21 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handcuffed
Adjective
-
Weaponized incompetence, or the practice of being so helpless that the labor simply falls on someone else, has long been a feature of domestic life.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
1 Apr. 2026
-
But Lumet and screenwriter Frank Pierson ease up on the laughs as Sonny’s predicament grows more helpless, allowing the audience to feel his desperation as the drama barrels toward a tragic finale.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
In some species the nipples are fully exposed or are bounded by mere remnants of a pouch.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The territory is roughly bounded by Interstate 10 on the south and west and Loop 410 to the north and east.—
Brandon Lingle,
San Antonio Express-News,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
His ability to hold runners has hampered him.—
Shawn McFarland,
Dallas Morning News,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Jospin never embraced his role as a public figure, hampered by a restrained personality that grew even stiffer in front of cameras.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Carrington said Ny'Leek died of cardiac arrest Thursday, a little more than a year after surviving a hit-and-run that left him paralyzed from the neck down.—
Ryan Hughes,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The conflict has physically split the energy world into two paralyzed halves.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Then an acrobatic layup by Evans tied it — and the chase was on.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The Big Ten had a league-record six teams reach the Sweet 16 and now has tied the tournament record with four teams in the Elite Eight, increasing its chances of breaking through for the league's first title in more than a quarter-century.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Industry leaders also say the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route now being impeded by the war, must reopen by mid-April or supply disruptions could worsen significantly.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The Patriarchate said that the decision impeded freedom of worship and the status quo in Jerusalem.—
Melanie Lidman,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
An atmospheric river should track across California, even into southern California, by Tuesday, March 31, but is currently forecast to remain too weak to cause flooding issues, the WPC said.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
-
At the hospital in Dollow, mothers sat shoulder to shoulder on narrow beds holding frail children, some too weak to cry while others let out soft whimpers.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Many of the men were beheaded and women captured; Umar ibn Sa’d marched the spiked heads and shackled women through various towns on the way back to Caliph Yazid in Damascus to deter further protest.—
Mary Thurlkill,
The Conversation,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Prisoners were shackled to the walls, tortured and often confined to airless, windowless punishment cells.—
Tamara Hinson,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Handcuffed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handcuffed. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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