strangle

Verb
Synonyms: strangulatethrottlesmotherstiflemufflerepresshamperhaltercrampchokegagsuffocate

WordNet 3.0

Verb (6)

  1. kill by squeezing the throat of so as to cut off the air“he tried to strangle his opponent”“A man in Boston has been strangling several dozen prostitutes”Synonyms: strangulatethrottle
  2. conceal or hide“smother a yawn”“muffle one's anger”“strangle a yawn”Synonyms: smotherstiflemufflerepress
  3. die from strangulation
  4. prevent the progress or free movement of“He was hampered in his efforts by the bad weather”“the imperialist nation wanted to strangle the free trade between the two small countries”Synonyms: hamperhaltercramp
  5. constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathingSynonyms: choke
  6. struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake“he swallowed a fishbone and gagged”Synonyms: gagchokesuffocate
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Strangle \Stran"gle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Strangled; p. pr. & vb. n. Strangling.] [OF. estrangler, F. ['e]trangler, L. strangulare, Gr. ?, ?, fr. ? a halter; and perhaps akin to E. string, n. Cf. Strain, String.]

1.To compress the windpipe of (a person or animal) until death results from stoppage of respiration; to choke to death by compressing the throat, as with the hand or a rope. [1913 Webster]

Our Saxon ancestors compelled the adulteress to strangle herself.— Ayliffe.[1913 Webster]

2.To stifle, choke, or suffocate in any manner. [1913 Webster]

Shall I not then be stifled in the vault, . . . And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes?— Shak.[1913 Webster]

3.To hinder from appearance; to stifle; to suppress. "Strangle such thoughts." --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Strangle \Stran"gle\, v. i. To be strangled, or suffocated. [1913 Webster]
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