garrote

variants or garotte
as in to strangle
to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe the goons sent by the loan shark threatened to garrote the hero with his own necktie

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 garrote That means the Senate's only practical effect is adding another point at which oligarch lobbyists can garrote popular policy. Ryan Cooper, The Week, 29 Oct. 2021 Tony, unhindered by any sense of moral anguish, garrotes the man in broad daylight with a length of cable. Adam Wilson, Harper's magazine, 16 Sep. 2019 Sometimes the line between good writing and bad writing can be as thin as the piano wire with which a madman garrotes his victims. Laura Miller, Slate Magazine, 15 Aug. 2017 Last year, he was garroted by saw briars—the vicious inch-long thorns that lace the course—which left bleeding gashes across his neck. George Pendle, Esquire, 26 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for garrote
Verb
  • San Diego police have identified the 61-year-old man who died Saturday after an attacker bashed his head on the ground and strangled him in front of a Hillcrest gas station.
    Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Mar. 2025
  • She had been beaten and strangled on the steps of her home.
    Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • But, just like peanut butter—which is considered healthy for infants—Levinson says that cold, firm chunks or thick globs of butter may pose a choking hazard.
    Sarah Scott, Parents, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Lawmakers need to get it together soon, or the economy will go from gagging to choking.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The Southwest flight was just inches from the ground when the pilots throttled up and climbed skyward to avoid the business jet.
    Kerry Breen, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2025
  • The most recent occurrence came in November 2021, when No. 1 Gonzaga throttled No. 2 UCLA by 20 points.
    Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 14 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Garrote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/garrote. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

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