to choke (a person or animal), esp to death, by compressing their throat; = throttle2
to suppress (a groan, cry, etc)
a strangled sob
to hinder the development of (something)
The boarding-school ethic tended to strangle initiative
to die from or as if from being strangled
strangler noun
[Middle English via Old French from Latin strangulare, from Greek strangalan, from strangalē halter]