HANDCUFFING Synonyms: 117 Similar and Opposite Words

handcuffing

verb

present participle of handcuff

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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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 handcuffing Agents then discharged their weapons and pursued Allen, exchanging gunfire and later tackling and handcuffing him. —

Zach Lachance, The Washington Examiner, 26 Apr. 2026 After handcuffing Woods, authorities searched his pockets and found two white pills. —

R.j. Rico, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2026 The video sees one officer remove cash, a pair of AirPods, and pills from his pocket during the search before handcuffing him. —

Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Apr. 2026 After handcuffing Woods, authorities searched his pockets and found two white pills. —

R.j. Rico, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026 Common Knowledge The right’s first instinct after the ruling was to treat it as another case of judges handcuffing a president who was trying to act decisively in the national interest. —

Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026 While the juvenile was on his stomach, Officer Dugan allegedly used his espantoon on the back of the juvenile's neck, before handcuffing him and placing him in the patrol car. —

Adam Thompson, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026 That means there’s no constitutional precedent for handcuffing the commander in chief as congressional Democrats demand. —

Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2026 For Jones, doing his part meant observing, which led to at least four officers jumping on his back, handcuffing him, crushing his legs, and grinding his forehead into the frozen concrete. —

Evan Minsker, Rolling Stone, 7 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for handcuffing

Verb

While Iran has signed but not ratified the convention, it is considered by the legal community as binding under customary international law.

— Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 17 May 2026
The May 20 resolution is not legally binding in itself.

— Ingmar Rentzhog, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026