as in sieges
the cutting off of an area by military means to stop the flow of people or supplies
it was the blockade of all the enemy's major ports that finally won the war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in guards
to disallow entry into (a place) by means of a physical barrier at the entry point
the militant protestors blockaded the whole area around city hall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in besieges
to surround (as a fortified place) with armed forces for the purpose of capturing or preventing commerce and communication
blockaded the city until it surrendered
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 blockades
Steven Jiang, CNN Money, 6 Jan. 2026
During Lai's 156-day trial, prosecutors accused him of conspiring with senior executives of Apple Daily and others to request foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades and engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.
—CBS News, 15 Dec. 2025
According to the Mexican government’s Ministry of Interior, truckers and farmers carried out 31 blockades across 11 states early Wednesday morning.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 26 Nov. 2025
At the time, the blockades crippled transportation routes and hospital services and prompted international warnings about a humanitarian crisis in the country, which was reeling from a devastating earthquake.
—Muhib Rahman, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2025
Crime and unrest have become major concerns in Mali after militants in Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, imposed blockades on fuel imports—resulting in ongoing armed conflict, nationwide fuel shortages, and the closure of schools and universities.
—Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority did not immediately respond to a Free Press follow-up inquiry about the presence of physical blockades to block incoming traffic at the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
—Beki San Martin, Freep.com, 22 Oct. 2025
The crux will be whether Taiwan can operate, reconstitute, and adapt these weapons systems under actual fire, when blockades, cyberattacks, and massed PLA strikes stress every node of the island’s defense network.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025
In response, local tourism companies clashed, generating blockades and halting services that marooned global travelers in Aguas Calientes, the remote gateway town where buses snake through the Andes toward the 15th-century Inca citadel.
—Mark Johanson, Outside, 25 Sep. 2025
Greg Norman, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
In recent years Beijing has ramped up its military intimidation of Taiwan, including by simulating blockades.
—Verb
Road blockades, traffic slowdowns and other protests were widespread – from the southern port city of Marseille to Lille and Caen in the north, and from Nantes and Rennes in the west to Grenoble and Lyon in the southeast.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for blockades
Noun
-
Surovstev’s birthplace, present-day Mariupol, Ukraine, has endured some of the most devastating strikes and sieges from Russia during the war.—
-
Britain ultimately lost not only because of Washington’s extraordinary tenacity in the war’s several mainland theaters, but also because the king’s men had to stage long sieges, wage desperate naval battles, and take mounting casualties on too many other fronts spread too far apart.—
Verb
-
Starting guards Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee ended the first half 0-of-7 shooting and Florida leading just 41-40, with 26 points by Haugh and Condon on 11-of-14 shooting.—
-
Greenland also guards part of the GIUK Gap, named for the initials of Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom, where NATO monitors Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic.—
Verb
-
According to the Hindu, local eyewitnesses have said that the elephant attacks mostly at night while people are sleeping, and residents have been using firecrackers and patrol teams to keep the animal away from heavily populated areas.—
-
Russia attacks Ukraine with new Oreshnik ballistic missile Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with a new hypersonic ballistic missile, an advanced weapon capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.—
Cite this Entry
“Blockades.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blockades. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share