gridlock 1 of 2

as in halt
a point in a struggle where neither side is capable of winning or willing to give in with the White House controlled by one party and Congress by the other, the nation experienced four years of legislative gridlock

Synonyms & Similar Words

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gridlock

2 of 2

verb

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 gridlock
Noun
With the ability to produce content cheaply and distribute it directly to audiences, Barrett and company have an aversion to Hollywood gridlock. Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 6 Feb. 2025 The new ramp will not only help ease gridlock, but also foster future growth in the western parts of Broward County, officials say. Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2025
Verb
Their effort has been criticized as a road to gridlock while, in the aftermath instead, a summer of litigation and investigation of actions has played out. Alan Wooten | The Center Square, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 13 Aug. 2024 Hitler exploited his 37% to gridlock legislative processes, to cudgel or crush the political opposition, and ultimately to undermine the country’s democratic structures. Timothy Ryback, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024 See All Example Sentences for gridlock
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gridlock
Noun
  • One unique thing Reno fit into it is a short sound around the 1:35 mark that sounds like a car screeching to a halt.
    Tom Roland, Billboard, 8 Apr. 2025
  • But Putin had other ideas, tying a halt in hostilities to the West readmitting certain Russian banks into the West’s financial network.
    Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Because the Kremlin is already filling the void.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The celebrity launch was the nation’s first spaceflight where women filled each seat.
    Marcia Dunn, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The race is nonpartisan, but the incoming supervisor will break the 2-2 deadlock between the two Democrats and the two Republicans on the current Board of Supervisors.
    Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
  • The ongoing deadlock raises the risk of direct conflict between the U.S. and Iran in an already unstable Middle East, where an American aircraft carrier strike group is leading a U.S. military operation against the Houthi militants in Yemen.
    Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The brash freshman who spent much of the season bragging to teammates about his power corked a bat to crush balls even farther.
    Chandler Rome, The Athletic, 20 Aug. 2024
  • Pair with a bottle of wine or corked beverage of choice for an even more elevated gift.
    Rachel Fletcher, Architectural Digest, 9 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • Now the Comcast impasse threatens to keep the White Sox off the air on the largest pay-TV provider in the Chicago market, a potentially devastating blow to the fans, the team and the new regional sports network.
    Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The widow, the lawyer, and the town remain at an impasse.
    Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 13 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • For his big plan, Yu can use them along with geographic information system (GIS) and satellite imagery to track China’s landscape changes as urbanization spreads, as estuaries and deltas silt up, as water starts to move differently across landscapes and cityscapes.
    Erica Gies, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2018
  • All the while, the Guadalquivir River, which allowed ships into Seville, began to silt up, forcing trade southward to the coastal town of Cádiz.
    Walker Mimms, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2023
Noun
  • Then Covid-19 brought the world to a standstill and Florida still hasn't fully recovered.
    Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025
  • With Trump’s reciprocal tariffs against dozens of U.S. trading partners due to hit Wednesday, the Wall Street investment bank sees gross domestic product growth coming to a near standstill and core inflation ending the year well above the central bank’s 2% target.
    Jeff Cox, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The formula is packed with hyaluronic acid to deeply hydrate and plump the skin, and it can be applied on its own or mixed into a moisturizer.
    Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 10 Apr. 2025
  • The rover is packed with features designed with the next generation of Artemis program moon explorers in mind and is based on feedback from current NASA astronauts at NASA's Johnson Space Center, according to Lunar Outpost's A.J Gerner.
    Brett Tingley, Space.com, 9 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Gridlock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gridlock. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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