as in to paralyze
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
the downtown development committee claims that it's hamstrung by city ordinances protecting historic buildings
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Recent Examples of hamstring
What Trump is proposing Trump hasn’t unveiled his policy yet, hamstrung by congressional Republicans who have balked at his subsidy extension plan.
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David Goldman, CNN Money, 4 Dec. 2025
Trump’s action will feed America’s destructive use of oil, while hamstringing us in the green tech race against Chinese and other foreign carmakers.
—Clara McMichael, ABC News, 3 Dec. 2025
These fatality reviews are further hamstrung by the boundary between domestic violence and child abuse.
—Kaitlyn M. Sims, The Conversation, 2 Dec. 2025
That strategy has also allowed Nintendo to avoid the high costs and constant retraining that are hamstringing its competitors.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hamstring
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hamstring
Verb
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Cuban officials acknowledged at the end of last year the country’s economy is yet again paralyzed due to fuel shortages and power stations constantly breaking down.—
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This week's protests are the biggest in three years, since nationwide demonstrations triggered by the death of a young woman in custody in late 2022 paralyzed Iran for weeks, with rights groups reporting hundreds killed.—
Verb
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Both have endured crippling US sanctions that have precipitated economic collapses.—
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In November 2021, while massing troops along its border with Ukraine, Russia threatened to cripple GPS if NATO got in the way.—
Verb
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The video evidence also appears to undermine elements of the government’s narrative of what happened.—
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Environmental and labor leaders say the pause is costing thousands of jobs and undermining energy independence.—
Verb
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Evergreen branches bent under the weight of snow are already weakened; sweeping down the length of the branch toward the ground adds to the stress and increases the potential for breakage.—
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These policies impose devastating costs on American citizens, weakening our economy, increasing the national debt, straining public budgets and tearing families apart.—
Verb
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The suspect advanced on police after a roughly seven-minute standoff and officers deployed stun guns, which failed to incapacitate him, according to Minch.—
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Munoz-Guatemala was not incapacitated by the Taser, prosecutors said, and kept driving, taking Ross the length of a football field in 12 seconds.—
Cite this Entry
“Hamstring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hamstring. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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