Meaning & use
manacle
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Meanings
nounusually plural
A metal ring or chain locked around a prisoner's wrist or ankle to stop movement.
Grammar: Usually plural: the prisoner wore manacles.
Patterns
- in manacles
- a pair of manacles
The prisoner's manacles clanked against the stone floor.
He was led into court in manacles.
The old dungeon still had rusty manacles on the wall.
verbtransitive
To put manacles on someone or to restrain them tightly.
Grammar: Takes an object: they manacled the prisoner.
Patterns
- manacle someone to something
The guards manacled the captive to the wall.
In the film, the hero is manacled and thrown in a cell.
He was manacled at the wrists and ankles.
nounusually pluralfigurative
Something that strongly limits freedom or progress, in a figurative sense.
Grammar: Figurative: manacles of tradition.
Patterns
- the manacles of something
She finally broke free of the manacles of debt.
The manacles of tradition held the village back.
He felt the manacles of fear tighten around him.
Word forms
| plural | manacles |
|---|---|
| third person singular | manacles |
| past tense | manacled |
| past participle | manacled |
| -ing form | manacling |
Common combinations
- in manacles
- The outlaw was marched through town in manacles.
- rusty manacles
- Rusty manacles hung from the dungeon wall.
- slip the manacles
- The magician slipped the manacles in seconds.
- manacled to the wall
- The prisoner was manacled to the wall.
- manacles of poverty
- They worked hard to break the manacles of poverty.
Synonyms and how they differ
- handcuff
- Handcuff is the modern word for police restraints, while manacle has a historical or dramatic feel.
- shackle
- Shackle is very close but is more often used for ankle restraints and for general figurative limits.
- fetter
- Fetter is a more literary word, usually for a chain around the ankles.
- chain
- Chain is a general word for linked metal rings, and it is not always used on a person.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: manacle or manicle?
manacle vs manicle
Manicle is not a standard word, so people sometimes mis-spell manacle by mixing it with manicure.
Practice
In the old castle, visitors can see the heavy iron ______ once used to chain prisoners to the wall.
Choose one answer.
Manacles are metal restraints for prisoners. Mantles are cloaks, and manuals are instruction books, so neither fits.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “manacle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.