SHACKLING Synonyms: 117 Similar and Opposite Words

shackling

verb

present participle of shackle

as in binding

to confine or restrain with or as if with chains unwilling to shackle the dogs to the wall of the house

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in hampering

to create difficulty for the work or activity of shackled by poverty and ignorance

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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 shackling Both players played well, Romero shackling Jude Bellingham for much of the evening, Spence producing a famous recovery tackle on Giuliano Simeone when England were 1-0 up. — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2026 Khushboo Gupta, vice president of policy at PETA India, said the aesthetic appeal of live elephants doesn’t justify shackling, beating and separating them from their families. — ABC News, 3 July 2026 In 2019, David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty to torture and years of abuse that included shackling some of their 13 children at their home in California, starving them and providing only a minimal education. — Julie Carr Smyth, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 The Baltimore region has suffered too long from underinvestment in transit services — which is shackling economic growth, harming the environment and constraining quality of life for families. — Brandon Scott, Baltimore Sun, 25 Feb. 2026 Men are often the ones in those ICE facilities who are shackling and chaining detainees. — Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 7 Feb. 2026 In Wisconsin, a bill that would restrict shackling inmates while in labor — something most states already ban — has repeatedly failed to pass the state Legislature. — Jon Schuppe, NBC news, 18 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shackling

Verb

Mechanism of action Buprenorphine produces its main therapeutic and physiological effects by binding to mu (μ) opioid receptors.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
The Ninth Circuit is now binding legal precedent for federal judges in California, Arizona and six other states that have pushed for more regulation.

— Marshall Cohen, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of binding

Verb

Birds visiting the feeder can get the goo on their wings, hampering their ability to fly and possibly leading to their untimely deaths.

— Joan Morris, Mercury News, 17 Aug. 2026
Rescuers will use an extrication device and a helicopter, Fathur said, adding that there were no reports of people missing and no challenges hampering the search.

— Reuters, NBC news, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of hampering

Verb

The Supreme Court has been a fitful friend to Trump in his second term, alternately enabling and impeding him.

— Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Cornstarch can create issues like clogging sprayers, impeding root growth, or interfering with leaf function.

— Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of impeding

Verb

On the other side of the car, another ICE agent was restraining Salgado against the ground, handcuffing him.

— Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026
The month prior, Ariana Grande demanded that the administration stop using her music in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement TikTok video depicting federal agents arresting and handcuffing people.

— Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 29 July 2026

Definition of handcuffing

Verb

More than 1,300 people are missing, and a lack of connectivity, power and resources are hindering rescue efforts.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
The charges are hindering proceedings by disorderly conduct, a Class A misdemeanor, and disrupting a meeting or procession, a Class B misdemeanor.

— Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of hindering

Verb

Frustrated with the confining nature of Japanese society, Kusama left for New York in 1957.

— Kaori Kaneko, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
With Rear Window, Hitchcock and his collaborators miraculously craft an exhilarating, satisfying mystery-thriller while confining the protagonist to a single location.

— Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of confining

Verb

In July, Michaels was diagnosed with a complicated obstructing kidney stone, which required immediate surgery and the placement of a ureteral stent.

— Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
But Seminole’s Special Magistrate Sherry Sutphen chastised Moncrief, a resident of The Springs neighborhood, for likely damaging the river’s ecology behind his home and obstructing its natural flow.

— Martin E. Comas, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of obstructing

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shackles

shackling

shacks

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“Shackling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shackling. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of shackling

verb

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