handcuffing

verb

present participle of handcuff
1
as in binding
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in impeding
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 handcuffing Police were seen handcuffing a man and putting him in a squad car at the scene near East 82nd Street and 12th Avenue South. — CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026 Police officers can be seen handcuffing and arresting a man in video footage from OnScene. — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026 On the other side of the car, another ICE agent was restraining Salgado against the ground, handcuffing him. — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026 The month prior, Ariana Grande demanded that the administration stop using her music in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement TikTok video depicting federal agents arresting and handcuffing people. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 29 July 2026 The video ended showing cops pulling Hastings out of his car and handcuffing him. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026 One video published by The Bangor Daily News shows agents pulling his unmoving body out of the driver’s seat—then handcuffing him. — Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Time, 16 July 2026 Forest Service officials, their patience having long evaporated, arrived in force, handcuffing and hauling the occupiers out by the yokes of their flannels, then bulldozing the camp. — Literary Hub, 10 July 2026 And yet the situation has the potential of becoming a bigger distraction and handcuffing Yzerman from building the roster further. — ABC News, 2 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handcuffing
  1. binding
  2. impeding
  3. tying
  4. hampering
  5. confining
  6. hindering
  7. shackling
  8. obstructing
Verb
  • Each round took seven to 10 days and involved synthesizing DNA candidates, testing their binding behavior and using sequencing results to guide subsequent designs.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The 10th Circuit governs federal district courts in six states—Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming—and its rulings are influential, though not binding, elsewhere.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of binding
Verb
  • Rucker says crews arrived to find flames inside the building, but racks inside were impeding their movement and eventually blocked their exits, leading two firefighters to suffer burns.
    — Ashley Grams, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The insects tunnel their way into the trunk, impeding the tree’s water and nutrient supply and killing it within a year.
    — Jennifer Oldham, Denver Post, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of impeding
Verb
  • Hunter's interception led to Jacksonville's drive and Little’s game-tying field goal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton led a long, game-tying touchdown drive in the fourth quarter but lost a fumble with 58 seconds remaining and the Bulldogs driving for a potential go-ahead field goal.
    — Charles Odum, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of tying
Verb
  • Kyiv sees this as an attempt to pressure it into concessions by hampering its aerial defense and military operations.
    — David Hickey, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Virus-carrying midges are hampering deer season in South Dakota, where an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease has prompted South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks to issue deer license refunds.
    — Kris Millgate, Outdoor Life, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of hampering
Verb
  • Luck was not widespread among Wednesday’s Florida Lotto, Fantasy 5 and Powerball drawings, confining itself to a single ticket.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026
  • If youth teams practiced like the pros, confining full contact to once a week, impacts could fall by more than half, Daneshvar says.
    — Alexandra Pattillo, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of confining
Verb
  • And warming temperatures are hindering their ability to perform essential functions.
    — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Royce Moser, 18, is facing charges including murder, while his mother, 56-year-old Rachel Moser, is facing charges including hindering apprehension of a fugitive, according to court records.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of hindering
Verb
  • There is nothing just about shackling people that have never committed a crime.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Both players played well, Romero shackling Jude Bellingham for much of the evening, Spence producing a famous recovery tackle on Giuliano Simeone when England were 1-0 up.
    — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of shackling
Verb
  • Abiy's office accused the TPLF of obstructing the agreement and said that the latest fighting ended in its defeat.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Abiy’s office accused the TPLF of obstructing the agreement and said the latest fighting ended in its defeat.
    — Khaled Kazziha, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of obstructing

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handcuffed
handcuffing
handcuffs
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Cite this Entry

“Handcuffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handcuffing. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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