strangle

CEFRB1

/ˈstɹæŋɡəl/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To stop someone breathing by squeezing their neck.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To choke, suffocate or throttle, whether the victim survives or not.

Examples

  • The first person to repeat that to my wife, I will strangle. Understood?

  • Tom couldn't quite bring himself to strangle Mary.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • [ˈstɹ̝̊ʷæŋɡəl] ~ [ˈstɹ̝̊ʷæŋɡl̩]
  • /ˈstɹeɪ̯ŋɡəl/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To stifle or suppress.

  2. To kill someone by squeezing the throat so as to cut off the oxygen supply; to choke, suffocate or throttle.

  3. To kill someone by squeezing the throat so as to cut off the oxygen supply.

More examples

In context

  • She strangled her husband and dissolved the body in acid.

  • The cat slipped from the branch and strangled on its bell-collar.

  • He strangled a scream.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

A rope can be used to blank someone in a violent attack.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English stranglen, from Old French estrangler, from Latin strangulō, strangulāre, from Ancient Greek στραγγαλόομαι (strangalóomai, “to be strangled”), from στραγγάλη (strangálē, “a halter”); compare στραγγός (strangós, “twisted”) and string. Displaced Middle English wirien, awurien (“to strangle”) (> English worry).