noun
- metal restraints or shackles placed around the wrists or ankles to prevent movement
Usage: usually plural
verb
- to restrain someone by putting manacles on them
- to restrict or limit someone’s freedom or ability to act
Usage: figurative
Examples
- The prisoner’s manacles clanked as he walked into the courtroom.
- Heavy iron manacles bound the captive’s wrists together.
- The guards manacled the dangerous criminal before transport.
- She felt manacled by the strict rules of her upbringing.
- The new regulations manacle small businesses with excessive paperwork.
- He struggled against the rusty manacles that held him to the wall.
- Fear can manacle the mind and prevent creative thinking.