STRANGLING Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

strangling

verb

present participle of strangle

as in choking

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in throttling

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 stifling

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 strangling Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, doesn’t deny strangling her children in the basement of their home in 2023. — Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026 Prosecutors allege Clancy planned the killings by sending her husband out on errands and then strangling the children with exercise bands while he was gone. — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026 The jury could consider first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter charges in the trial of the Massachusetts mother accused of murder after strangling her three young children in 2023. — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026 The project is now being shut down at the end of August, further strangling Norman’s homeless support services as the crisis deepens. — Jake Ramsey, Oklahoma Watch, 30 Aug. 2026 Prosecutors say the killings were deliberate, arguing that Clancy sent her husband out on errands before strangling the children and then attempting suicide. — Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026 Clancy jumped out a window after strangling the children to death and was paralyzed in the fall. — Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for strangling

Verb

Faux greenery eliminates plant-toxin concerns, but loose pieces can still become choking hazards or cause an intestinal blockage if swallowed.

— Lauren Paige Richeson, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
He was charged with three offenses, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intentionally choking a person without consent and common assault.

— McKinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of choking

Verb

Mostly sunny skies are then expected through the work week, with stifling temperatures by mid-week, the forecast shows.

— Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 28 Aug. 2026
Several horses collapsed from heat exhaustion after competing in stifling heat in the middle of the day during the cross-country phase of the eventing.

— Danielle Rossingh, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of stifling

Verb

Rather than suppressing appetite, the compound appears to boost energy expenditure, according to a study published in Science Advances.

— Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Increasingly, the wildfires that most urgently need suppressing ignite in the interfaces between rural and urban areas, places smokejumpers were not originally intended to go.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of suppressing

Verb

King managed to take the suffocating history of the Indian — the treaties, the massacres, the Hollywood caricatures — and turn it into something conversational, even funny.

— Tommy Orange, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
Veteran players often retain their offensive intelligence and puck skills into their mid-30s, but playing a suffocating two-way game is generally the hallmark of the young and physically assertive.

— Thomas Drance, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of suffocating

Verb

Popular media and Southern folklore frequently claimed that kudzu was swallowing 150,000 new acres every year and had overtaken anywhere from 7 to 9 million acres across the region.

— The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 26 Aug. 2026
The cause of the powerful torrents of floodwater that carved a devastating path through Nepal and Tibet — swallowing towns, roads and bridges — is not yet clear, but Nepal is a hotspot for climate disasters as the planet heats up.

— Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of swallowing

Verb

The scrutiny at the club is like no other, the media attention can be smothering and the level expected from fans is so high.

— Ben Church, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
This is typically done with a sod cutter, by smothering with cardboard or plastic, or with a nonselective herbicide.

— Teresa Woodard, Midwest Living, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of smothering

Browse Nearby Words

strangles

strangling

strap

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“Strangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strangling. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of strangling

verb

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