Definition

1. Noun:
   • Economic strangulation refers to a deliberate and severe restriction or complete cutoff of economic resources, trade, or commercial dealings imposed on a group, region, or nation. The goal is to weaken, punish, or force submission by crippling its economic life and capacity to function.

Usage

• This term is typically used in political, historical, and economic contexts to describe a form of coercive pressure or warfare.
• It often describes actions by a state or powerful entity against another group.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The sanctions were designed as a method of economic strangulation to force the regime to negotiate.
  • Historians cite the blockade as an act of economic strangulation that led to widespread hardship.

Advanced Usage

• The term implies a slow, suffocating process, akin to cutting off air supply, applied to an economy.
• It can be used metaphorically in business contexts, though this is less common.
  • The giant corporation's practices led to the economic strangulation of smaller competitors.

Variants and Related Words

• Strangulate (verb): To constrict or compress tightly, often used in medical or figurative contexts.
  • The tumor began to strangulate the blood vessel.
• Strangulation (noun): The act of strangling. "Economic strangulation" is a specific figurative application of this concept.
• Embargo (noun): An official ban on trade or commercial activity with a particular country.
• Blockade (noun): An act of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving.

Synonyms

• Economic blockade: A more specific term for preventing goods from entering or leaving.
• Economic asphyxiation: A very close synonym emphasizing the suffocating effect.
• Economic siege: Implies surrounding and cutting off economic sustenance.

Related Phrases

• To apply economic pressure: A broader, less severe term for using economic measures to influence.
• To cripple an economy: A more general phrase for causing severe economic damage.

Notes

• "Economic strangulation" is a compound noun where "economic" specifies the type of strangulation. The core concept explained here is the complete phrase.
• It is a powerful term with strong negative connotations, often associated with human suffering and geopolitical conflict.

Noun

1. punishment of a group by cutting off commercial dealings with them
   • the economic strangulation of the Jews by the Nazi Party