1
as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
several hamstrung attempts to reorganize the local parent-teacher association were made
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in paralyzed
unable to act or achieve one's purpose
hamstrung by recent congressional limitations on executive power, the president can do little in this situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in crippled
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of hamstrung
Abhishek Singh, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Republicans like Councilor Michael-Paul Hart, who sponsored the proposal to reform the General Orders Board, said the current setup gives civilians too much power and has made officers feel hamstrung by some of the orders.
—Jordan Smith, IndyStar, 28 Aug. 2025
Newcastle, like Villa, are hamstrung.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Jim Richberg, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
They are hamstrung by having fewer states in their control and stricter rules that make partisan redrawing more difficult.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2025
This raised around £40m on top of their £18m payment from the ECB’s central sales pot, meaning Yorkshire have finally been able to shake off the onerous debt that has hamstrung operations for a generation.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
The admission is just the latest bungle from New York’s beleaguered legal marijuana program, which has been hamstrung by legal challenges, a slow rollout and gaps in the law that allowed an illicit market to flourish.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2025
The Hill’s Jared Gans reports that Democrats are hamstrung by their own recent push to use independent redistricting commissions, taking the issue out of the hands of state lawmakers.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Yet, despite decades of advancement in digital infrastructure, network rollouts remain hamstrung by manual processes, fragmented systems and costly delays.
—Verb
Even if its leaders still want to move military forces abroad, their ability to do so would be hamstrung by the paralysis of vital logistics, transportation and communications infrastructure achieved through these cyberattacks.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for hamstrung
Adjective
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Russell went on to be reelected in 2019, leaving office nearly a year before his term was up after an unsuccessful run for Congress.—
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While her last two presidential runs have been unsuccessful, her 2024 bid came with just over three months to campaign.—
Adjective
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While many workers consider job changes, those who approach transitions strategically have a significant advantage over those who act impulsively or remain paralyzed by uncertainty.—
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Her son was left paralyzed from the mid-chest down, had to have his left leg amputated at the knee and two thirds of his bowel removed — and almost a month later, is still in the hospital, where he is intubated and fighting an infection.—
Verb
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Russian hackers crippled the Colonial Gas Pipeline for five days in 2021, causing shortages at 16,200 gas stations along the East Coast and widespread consumer anxiety before the company paid a $5 million ransom to regain access to its computers.—
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This allowed Google to survive the dotcom crash that crippled its competitors.—
Adjective
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To address this, a lottery system for applicants was put in place, which critics say is manifestly inefficient.—
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But the reality is that data centers are inefficient, guzzling water and consuming huge amounts of electricity.—
Adjective
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Without such equipment an army is helpless, no matter how brave, well-trained, and numerous its soldiers may be.—
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The wave of conflicting and often inaccurate or incomplete information leaves consumers, particularly those already experiencing financial hardship, feeling overwhelmed, confused, frustrated and helpless.—
Verb
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Kennedy has repeatedly undermined the MMR vaccine.—
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This slow adoption stems from a low tolerance for errors, past disappointments with AI and a belief that years of legal training shouldn't be undermined by machine learning—all valid perspectives widely discussed in the industry.—
Adjective
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Some research theorizes that putting too many superstars on a team can be counterproductive.—
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That path is counterproductive.—
Adjective
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Kleptocratic governments are not weak or failing, Chayes argues in this paradigm-shifting 2015 book.—
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The plan to tap geothermal energy answered the key question of power provision, getting around Africa’s chronically weak grids with the green, baseload electricity required for digital infrastructure.—
Cite this Entry
“Hamstrung.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hamstrung. Accessed 26 Sep. 2025.
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