Definition

1. Verb:
   • To kill by squeezing the throat to prevent breathing: This is the primary meaning, referring to causing death through external pressure on the neck, cutting off air or blood flow.
   • To suppress or stifle something: This figurative meaning refers to preventing the development, expression, or free movement of something.
   • To constrict or tighten painfully: This can describe a tight, choking sensation, often physical or emotional.

Usage and Examples

• Literal meaning (to kill by constricting the throat):
  • The evidence showed the victim had been strangled.
  • He was convicted for attempting to strangle his rival.
• Figurative meaning (to suppress or prevent):
  • The new regulations strangle innovation and free trade.
  • She strangled a scream when she saw the spider.
• Describing a constricting sensation:
  • Fear strangled his voice, and he couldn't speak.
  • The tight collar seemed to strangle him.

Advanced Usage

• "strangle the press/free speech": To suppress freedom of expression or information.
  • The authoritarian regime sought to strangle the independent press.
• "strangle a movement/rebellion": To crush or suppress a social or political movement.
  • The government used force to strangle the protest movement in its infancy.
• "stranglehold" (noun - a variant): A grip or influence that suppresses or controls completely.
  • The company has a stranglehold on the local market.

Variants and Related Words

• Strangler (n): A person who strangles someone.
• Strangulation (n): The act or process of strangling, or the state of being strangled; death caused by compressing the neck.
• Strangling (n/adj): Used to describe the action or something that causes strangulation.

Synonyms

• Throttle: Often used interchangeably with 'strangle' in the literal sense.
• Choke: Can mean to hinder breathing, but is more general and not always fatal.
• Suppress: A synonym for the figurative meaning of preventing development or expression.
• Stifle: To smother or restrain; a close synonym for the figurative use.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

(Note: 'Strangle' itself is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its meanings are typically expressed directly or through related nouns like 'stranglehold'.)

Related Idioms

• "Strangle with red tape": To hinder or prevent action through excessive bureaucracy or complex regulations.
  • The project was strangled with red tape and never started.

Verb

1. struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake
   • he swallowed a fishbone and gagged
2. constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing
3. 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
4. die from strangulation
5. conceal or hide
   • smother a yawn
   • muffle one's anger
   • strangle a yawn
6. 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