MEANING
1. To restrict freedom, hinder action, or entangle movement.
2. A fishing net formed from three layers of mesh, with a finer inner layer that entangles fish.
3. An instrument using adjustable points or sliding parts to mark, measure, or trace a prescribed curve, especially a large circle or ellipse.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- trammel freedom
- trammel someone’s movements
On the page
The straps trammeled her movements without entirely immobilizing her.
Fear of the unseen listener trammeled every attempt to speak.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- trammel
- Past tense
- trammeled or trammelled
- Past participle
- trammeled or trammelled
- Present participle
- trammeling or trammelling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- trammel
- Present continuous
- am/is/are trammeling or trammelling
- Present perfect
- have/has trammeled or trammelled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been trammeling or trammelling
- Past
- trammeled or trammelled
- Past continuous
- was/were trammeling or trammelling
- Past perfect
- had trammeled or trammelled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been trammeling or trammelling
- Future
- will trammel
- Future continuous
- will be trammeling or trammelling
- Future perfect
- will have trammeled or trammelled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been trammeling or trammelling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Forms: trammel; trammels; trammeled or trammelled; trammeled or trammelled; trammeling or trammelling Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: trammels.
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