hamstringing

verb

present participle of hamstring
as in paralyzing
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move the downtown development committee claims that it's hamstrung by city ordinances protecting historic buildings

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 hamstringing For example, states would often impose tariffs on each other’s goods, even if those goods were moving only from Virginia to Maryland and vice versa, thereby inhibiting the development of a national market and hamstringing internal trade. — Jordan Cash, The Conversation, 8 June 2026 Connecticut has among the highest electric rates in the nation, with some officials and legislators arguing that is hamstringing economic development efforts. — Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 18 Feb. 2026 But in the business community, people worry about the proposals hamstringing Colorado’s competitiveness with other states, Colorado Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Loren Furman said Tuesday. — Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 17 Feb. 2026 All three Eastern Conference teams are vying in what has become a wide-open race, with injuries hamstringing several teams. — Tyler Erzberger, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025 The team has had trouble finding traction this season, with early injuries and the six-game suspension of wide receiver Rashee Rice hamstringing their offensive efforts. — Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 8 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 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 In March, cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) disappeared the nearly $2 billion invested in the RECOVER (Researching Covid to Enhance Recovery) initiative, hamstringing research that might have yielded diagnostic tests or better treatments. — Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hamstringing
  1. paralyzing
  2. crippling
  3. undermining
  4. weakening
  5. disabling
  6. incapacitating
Verb
  • But his mental anguish is upsetting the balance of his cross-species DNA, first with paralyzing headaches and gradually with an internal battle as his arachnid side starts overpowering his human side.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 July 2026
  • Airpower should be assessed by the strategic effects it is tasked to achieve—disrupting enemy systems, paralyzing command, destroying key capabilities, etc.
    — David A. Deptula, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of paralyzing
Verb
  • Without that kind of money, Proposition 36 backers argue that the governor and the Legislature are unfairly crippling the new laws.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026
  • Florida didn’t have the cap space to work out the shorter term deal without crippling its ability to make other moves this offseason to enhance the roster.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026
Definition of crippling
Verb
  • Careless language can transform guidance into judgment, or urgency into panic, undermining psychological safety.
    — Cheryl Robinson, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Undermining trust By introducing an AI image generator as a Google Earth feature, Google risked undermining public trust in Google Earth as a reliable reference for providing authentic imagery of the real world, Ess said.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026
Definition of undermining
Verb
  • Israelis across political and religious lines are worried about the weakening connection with younger Jewish Americans — who, according to a recent AP poll, tend to consider support for Israel less crucial to their Jewish identity than older adults.
    — Giovanna Dell'Orto, Fortune, 31 July 2026
  • Today, some civil-society leaders, and even figures inside the establishment itself, fret that the regime’s heavy domestic hand is not only hurting Iranians but also weakening the country’s war effort.
    — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • Powerful solar storms, like the one that hit Earth in January, are capable of disrupting or disabling satellites by interfering with onboard electronics, sensitive instruments and communications systems.
    — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 23 July 2026
  • Despite a disabling illness, Ettenberg continues expanding these essential tools, ensuring others can dine with confidence.
    — Michele Herrmann, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of disabling
Verb
  • The driver hits Leatherface in the head with a wrench, incapacitating him long enough for the driver to run away and Sally to jump into the cab of a passing pickup truck.
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 July 2026
  • Tabitha grabs one of the weird, spooky totem things and drives it through the chest of the scarecrow monster attacking Donna, killing it – or at least incapacitating it – and the scarecrows retreat.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
Definition of incapacitating

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Cite this Entry

“Hamstringing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hamstringing. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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