STRANGLE Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

strangle

verb

ˈstraŋ-gəl

Definition of strangle

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to stifle

to refrain from openly showing or uttering strangled a gasp of surprise upon hearing the news

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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 strangle One of the children told the deputies that their father had strangled their mother while some of the children were present 10 months earlier, according to the documents. — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 Officers found multiple videos that showed Jackson grabbing his Goldendoodle by the neck and strangling it before throwing it against a wall, killing it, police said. — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026 Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who is stationed at Futenma Air Station, on suspicion of strangling Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel in the island's capital city, Naha, early Saturday and stealing her wallet and backpack. — Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026 Devin Jacob Ballard, a 20-year-old Ohio native belonging to the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of strangling Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel and stealing her wallet and backpack. — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for strangle

Recent Examples of Synonyms for strangle

Verb

Bill Snyder’s second-greatest football achievement as Kansas State’s legendary head coach, after magically transforming the nation’s most moribund program into a national contender, was to choke the life from his school’s biggest rivalry game.

— Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2026
Among those arrested were individuals accused of choking their partners and assaulting their children, the sheriff’s office said.

— Tanya Babbar, Houston Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of choke

Verb

Debt acts as a ceiling on private investment, further stifling growth.

— Masood Ahmed, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
The weather served up truly stifling heat, including a stretch of highs in the mid-90s, and a few days of air quality emergency due to wildfire smoke drifting across the upper Midwest.

— Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of stifle

Verb

Montanans are suffocating due to an affordability crisis, rising fuel prices and an inexplicable war.

— David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
Hernandez, 43, and Ulani Nunes, 23 are accused of suffocating Manuel Mendez in order to take his money three days before his body was found wrapped in a shower curtain, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

— Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of suffocate

Verb

Optional filters can be slotted in each module (when available) to suppress city lighting, adjust for solar imagery, and cater for different wavelengths.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026
But Uthmeier contends an overly broad reading of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause has been twisted into a tool to suppress Christians and other believers.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of suppress

Verb

Investigators determined that Blake also had blunt-force injuries and signs of smothering.

— Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Their pursuit of a three-peat has been smothered by the Brewers’ own version of a three-peat, and nearly all hope is lost.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of smother

Verb

In many of his shots, the big sky of Ukraine’s fields and steppe swallows the frame.

— Sophie Pinkham, The New York Review of Books, 10 Oct. 2026
Pike has pneumonia and a blood clot in one of her arms, and is not able to swallow and therefore not eating, Spivey said Wednesday.

— Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of swallow

Verb

Family members believe Jilani drowned after becoming trapped in powerful water currents.

— Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
Threats also remain from strong rip currents and large waves, which increase the risk of ocean drowning and could threaten to capsize small boats near shore.

— Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of drown

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strangers

strangle

strangled

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

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Synonyms of strangle

verb

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