hamstring

verb

Definition of hamstringnext
as in to paralyze
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move the downtown development committee claims that it's hamstrung by city ordinances protecting historic buildings

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 hamstring The Maginot Line for NHL players is 30, and there is considerable risk that once Robertson crosses over the big contract will hamstring his team because the chances of him maintaining his current goal-production drop every year. — Mac Engel july 2, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 July 2026 Russia and China use these vessels to cut cables with plausible deniability, exploiting gaps in international law that hamstring the US and its allies. — Jill Goldenziel, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026 Even those items that can be produced will be hamstrung by constraints to global trade. — Tristan Bove, Fortune, 17 June 2026 For example, states would often impose tariffs on each other’s goods, even if those goods were moving only from Virginia to Maryland and vice versa, thereby inhibiting the development of a national market and hamstringing internal trade. — Jordan Cash, The Conversation, 8 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for hamstring
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hamstring
  1. paralyze
  2. cripple
  3. undermine
  4. weaken
  5. incapacitate
Verb
  • Clancy jumped out of a window after strangling the children to death and was paralyzed in the fall.
    — Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Clancy is now partially paralyzed due to her suicide attempt and is being held at Tewksbury hospital.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of paralyze
Verb
  • In 2022, officials condemned Iran for a cyberattack that crippled Albania's government services.
    — Ramy Inocencio, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Businesses have warned that the duties could cripple their sales and that the threat alone has already taken a toll.
    — Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of cripple
Verb
  • Attached to his letter is a fact sheet with evidence that Edwards’s claims undermine the committee’s.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 27 Aug. 2026
  • For Salesforce, investors have worried that increasingly capable AI models could allow businesses to accomplish more with fewer traditional software subscriptions, undermining the industry's pricing model.
    — Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of undermine
Verb
  • Even if Korea can maintain 2% economic growth over the next two decades, consumption growth gradually weakens and eventually turns negative, according to Goldman’s long-term modeling.
    — Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Riggs said the Teamsters’ safety argument is weakened by the inconsistent safety record of human truck drivers, who have fallen asleep at the wheel or driven while distracted or otherwise impaired.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of weaken
Verb
  • First, the knife had to be able penetrate deep into its target, even through heavy winter clothing, to deliver a blow that would quickly incapacitate.
    — David Szondy August 30, New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2026
  • All that before disorienting and incapacitating a potential school shooter in about a minute.
    — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of incapacitate

Browse Nearby Words

hams
hamstring
hamstringing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hamstring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hamstring. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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