strangled
An object or a person can be strangled when their neck is pressed tight, cutting off air and blood flow.
When we say something is "strangled", it usually means that its development, progress, or natural order has been hindered or blocked. For example, a new project might get strangled by bureaucracy if there's too much paperwork to fill out before anything can be done. A film could get strangled at the box office because of bad reviews or lack of advertising. In sports, a team might get strangled in the playoffs and lose their chance to win the championship. Sometimes we use "strangled" metaphorically – like saying that an artist's creativity was strangled by not being able to work on their true passion for years.
How common is "strangled"?
It appears most frequently in fiction texts and less often in other writings.
verb
To kill someone by squeezing the throat so as to cut off the oxygen supply; to choke, suffocate or throttle.
Example: He strangled his wife and dissolved the body in acid.
Real examples of "strangled" in context
