handcuffing

verb

present participle of handcuff
1
as in binding
to confine or restrain with or as if with chains wanted to take the trip, but was handcuffed by her responsibility to watch her ailing father

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in impeding
to create difficulty for the work or activity of the fear that the new mandatory, standardized tests will handcuff the state's teachers, who will have to specifically tailor their lesson plans for the test

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 handcuffing Police were seen handcuffing a man and putting him in a squad car at the scene near East 82nd Street and 12th Avenue South. — CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026 Police officers can be seen handcuffing and arresting a man in video footage from OnScene. — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026 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 The video ended showing cops pulling Hastings out of his car and handcuffing him. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026 One video published by The Bangor Daily News shows agents pulling his unmoving body out of the driver’s seat—then handcuffing him. — Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Time, 16 July 2026 Forest Service officials, their patience having long evaporated, arrived in force, handcuffing and hauling the occupiers out by the yokes of their flannels, then bulldozing the camp. — Literary Hub, 10 July 2026 And yet the situation has the potential of becoming a bigger distraction and handcuffing Yzerman from building the roster further. — ABC News, 2 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handcuffing
  1. binding
  2. impeding
  3. tying
  4. hampering
  5. confining
  6. hindering
  7. shackling
  8. obstructing
Verb
  • By binding to both, Imdelltra brings T cells into close contact with tumor cells, helping the immune system destroy the cancer.
    — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The company subsequently made that commitment legally binding in contracts with European national governments and the Commission.
    — Margot Edelman, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of binding
Verb
  • Advertisement But other allies of Jackson say an overcautious campaign is impeding the Bernie Sanders progressive and stalwart labor champion from connecting with voters.
    — Julia Terruso, Time, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Schwank also took issue with ICE’s characterization that Moreida was standing in the middle of an active road and impeding law enforcement’s actions.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of impeding
Verb
  • Democrat Aaron Ford is tying high fuel and household costs to Trump’s policies and portraying Lombardo as too closely aligned with the president.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Senior linebacker Boen Phelps was a big part of that effort, tying fifth-year edge Jayden Virgin-Morgan with six total tackles.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of tying
Verb
  • The officials said the restrictions were disrupting high-speed military drones, hampering Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian attacks and conduct operations along the front line.
    — Garrett Downs, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Kyiv sees this as an attempt to pressure it into concessions by hampering its aerial defense and military operations.
    — David Hickey, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of hampering
Verb
  • Potentially containing trillions of parameters — values learned during training — frontier models require vast computing resources, largely confining them to data centers, where they can be more easily monitored and, in principle, switched off.
    — Robert Hart, The Verge, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Luck was not widespread among Wednesday’s Florida Lotto, Fantasy 5 and Powerball drawings, confining itself to a single ticket.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of confining
Verb
  • For more than a week, Ukraine had faced a speed limit on the Starshield satellite terminals used by its military, hindering its ability to intercept fast-moving Russian drones.
    — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Willie Herndon faces a murder charge and Taiya Herndon, who drove her husband to Illinois after the shooting, was arrested on charges of hindering prosecution, according to police.
    — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of hindering
Verb
  • There is nothing just about shackling people that have never committed a crime.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 1 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of shackling
Verb
  • The federal agency also warned that obstructing immigration officers is a federal crime.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • During the investigation, it was alleged that Stewart, who is a resident, returned to the property and was later taken into custody for obstructing a peace officer.
    — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of obstructing

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Cite this Entry

“Handcuffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handcuffing. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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