1
as in to choke
to be or cause to be killed by lack of breathable air the gull got tangled in a piece of fishing line on the beach and was strangled

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2
as in to throttle
to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe the boy complained that he was being strangled by his tie

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3

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of strangle Riebe said Curry’s wife was the first of two women strangled last year during separate conjugal visits with their husbands last year at Mule Creek State Prison. Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 4 Apr. 2025 Fulton said Weston returned to her, slammed her into a wall, stood on her neck at one point and was strangling her as the friend tried to pull Weston away. Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2025 Earlier this year, audio was released from 2022, where Majors admitted to having strangled his partner at the time. Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 9 Apr. 2025 Michael Tanzi, 48, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. at Florida State Prison for the April 2000 kidnapping and strangling death of Janet Acosta, a production worker at The Miami Herald. Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for strangle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strangle
Verb
  • This hazard, hard plastic, and many other physical hazards such as metal and rocks/stones can cause illness or injury to the consumer, including laceration, cuts to the tongue or gum, perforation, occlusion (choking), typically occurring immediately or shortly after consumption.
    John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Silva walked Mitchell down, shook off takedown attempts, hurt him on the feet, and masterfully choked him out.
    Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • What is the Google hearing about? U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August that Google has illegally exploited its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation.
    Patrick Maguire, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2025
  • In 2020, the Justice Department, joined by a group of states, accused Google of illegally stifling competition by paying the makers of web browsers and phones to set Google as their default search engine.
    John Ruwitch, NPR, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • According to prosecutors, Correa and others beat detainees with pipes, burned them with molten plastic and acid, shocked them with electricity and suffocated them with plastic bags.
    Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
  • UConn suffocated a Gamecocks offense limited in options and carved up the defending champion’s aggressive defense.
    Marcus Thompson II, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The players argue the defendants have suppressed players’ earnings and other professional opportunities.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 18 Apr. 2025
  • By suppressing the body's production of certain hormones, Lupron can pause the physical changes associated with puberty until a more appropriate age.
    Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Golden State won the regular-season series 3-2, but the Rockets smothered Curry and the Warriors 106-96 in the last matchup of the season.
    Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 21 Apr. 2025
  • The English side came close to equalising either side of half-time when first Alessia Russo headed a Katie McCabe free kick against the crossbar before the break, and then after it, Caitlin Foord had a shot smothered by Lyon goalkeeper Christiane Endler.
    Asif Burhan, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Anunoby, who also finished with 23 points in Game 1, was tasked with making Cunningham feel a presence as swallowing as Madison Square Garden was on Saturday night.
    James L. Edwards III, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2025
  • Cut to: Hampton reading from The Book of Jonah, a section of the Old Testament perhaps best known for the titular prophet getting swallowed by a whale.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The swimmer drowned about 4:45 p.m. in the river near the 2500 block of Roberts Cut Off Road.
    Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Most of the Titanic’s passengers and crew didn’t drown inside the wreck, Nargeolet points out, but died of hypothermia in the 100 minutes before the Carpathia found a sea of floating corpses.
    Sean Kingsley, HollywoodReporter, 11 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Strangle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strangle. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.

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