strangulate
strangulate Lexical Profile
strangulate Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To constrict or compress a blood vessel, intestine, or other anatomical duct so tightly that circulation or normal passage of fluid is cut off (in medicine and pathology).
"Emergency surgery is required if the abdominal wall begins to strangulate the protruding loop of intestine."
To strangle, choke, or suffocate by compressing the windpipe; figuratively, to suppress or stifle the growth or development of something.
"Excessive bureaucratic regulations threatened to strangulate the emerging small business sector."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'strangle' is the standard word in everyday English for choking someone or stifling growth, 'strangulate' is used almost exclusively in clinical and surgical contexts to describe the constriction of blood vessels, intestines, or hernias.
• Rhymes for strangulate
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 16th century from Latin strangulatus, the past participle of strangulare ('to choke, throttle, or suffocate'), itself derived from Ancient Greek strangalē ('a halter or noose').