---
title: strangler — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «strangler» in the school dictionary: A strangler is a person who kills or hurts someone by squeezing their throat so they cannot breathe; it is a word from crime news and stories. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strangler/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [S](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/) / strangler

# strangler

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** strangler, person, strangler fig, tropical plant, Weeds, strangler figs · **What happens:** be, kill, hurt, squeeze, not breathe, grow · **To what, where:** person, someone, throat, word, crime news, tropical plant · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«strangler» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [strangler in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/strangler.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A strangler is a person who kills or hurts someone by squeezing their throat so they cannot breathe; it is a word from crime news and stories.

<!-- fold The tree, 28 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:strangler:m1:1
# text = A strangler is a person who kills or hurts someone by squeezing their throat so they cannot breathe; it is a word from crime news and stories.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	strangler	strangler	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	kills	kill	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	hurts	hurt	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
10	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	9	obj	_	_
11	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
12	squeezing	squeeze	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	acl	_	_
13	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
14	throat	throat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
15	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	19	mark	_	_
16	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	_
17	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	19	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	19	advmod	_	_
19	breathe	breathe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	24	punct	_	_
21	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	24	nsubj	_	_
22	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	24	cop	_	_
23	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
25	from	from	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
26	crime	crime	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	compound	_	_
27	news	news	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	24	nmod	_	_
28	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	29	cc	_	_
29	stories	story	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	27	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a strangler | a person and a word |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **kill** | present | a person and a word |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **hurt** | present | a person and a word *not said here* | someone |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer someone=Patient |
| 4 | **squeeze** | gerund |  | person's throat |  |  |  |  | vn push-12-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent throat=Theme |
| 5 | **not** **breathe** | can | person |  |  |  |  |  | vn breathe-40.1.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 6 | **is a** | present | strangler | a word |  | crime news and stories |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: science — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A strangler fig is a tropical plant that grows around a tree, wraps it in roots and can slowly kill it.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:strangler:m2:1
# text = A strangler fig is a tropical plant that grows around a tree, wraps it in roots and can slowly kill it.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	strangler	strangler	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	fig	fig	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	tropical	tropical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	grows	grow	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	around	around	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	tree	tree	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	wraps	wrap	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	conj	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	_
16	in	in	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	roots	root	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl	_	_
18	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
19	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	21	aux	_	_
20	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	_
21	kill	kill	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	conj	_	_
22	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	21	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a strangler fig | a tropical plant |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **grow** | present | a tropical plant |  |  | a tree |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme around tree=Location |
| 3 | **wrap** | present | a tropical plant *not said here* | fig |  | roots |  |  | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent it=Theme in root=Destination |
| 4 | **kill** | can | a tropical plant *not said here* | fig |  |  |  | slowly *property* | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Weeds that wrap around and choke other plants are sometimes called stranglers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:strangler:m3:1
# text = Weeds that wrap around and choke other plants are sometimes called stranglers.
1	Weeds	weed	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	3	nsubj	_	_
3	wrap	wrap	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	acl:relcl	_	_
4	around	around	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	choke	choke	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
7	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux:pass	_	_
10	sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	11	advmod	_	_
11	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
12	stranglers	strangler	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wrap around** | present | Weeds |  |  |  |  | around *property* | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V PP.destination»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **choke** | infinitive | Weeds *not said here* | other plants |  |  |  |  | vn fill-9.8 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme plant=Destination |
| 3 | **call** | present · passive |  | Weeds |  |  |  | sometimes *property* | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The strangler fig wrapped its roots around the old tree.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:strangler:x1:1
# text = The strangler fig wrapped its roots around the old tree.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	strangler	strangler	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	fig	fig	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	wrapped	wrap	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	roots	root	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
7	around	around	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	tree	tree	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wrap** | past | the strangler fig | fig's roots |  | the old tree |  |  | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent root=Theme around tree=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the rainforest, strangler figs can grow taller than their host trees.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:strangler:x2:1
# text = In the rainforest, strangler figs can grow taller than their host trees.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	rainforest	rainforest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	strangler	strangler	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	figs	fig	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
9	taller	tall	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	8	xcomp	_	_
10	than	than	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
12	host	host	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	trees	tree	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | can | strangler figs |  |  | the rainforest |  | tall *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in rainforest=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The detective story was about the hunt for a strangler.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:strangler:x3:1
# text = The detective story was about the hunt for a strangler.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	detective	detective	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	about	about	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	hunt	hunt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	strangler	strangler	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the detective story |  |  |  |  | about the hunt; for a strangler | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bindweed is a strangler that chokes garden plants.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:strangler:x4:1
# text = Bindweed is a strangler that chokes garden plants.
1	Bindweed	bindweed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	strangler	strangler	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
6	chokes	choke	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
7	garden	garden	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Bindweed | a strangler |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **choke** | present | a strangler | garden plants |  |  |  |  | vn fill-9.8 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme plant=Destination |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The police finally caught the strangler.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:strangler:x5:1
# text = The police finally caught the strangler.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	finally	finally	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	caught	catch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	strangler	strangler	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **catch** | past | the police | the strangler |  |  |  | finally *property* | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent strangler=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A strangler fig can leave a hollow tower of roots after the host tree dies.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:strangler:x6:1
# text = A strangler fig can leave a hollow tower of roots after the host tree dies.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	strangler	strangler	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	fig	fig	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	leave	leave	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	hollow	hollow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	tower	tower	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	roots	root	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	_
11	after	after	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	host	host	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	_
14	tree	tree	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
15	dies	die	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **leave** | can | a strangler fig | a hollow tower of roots |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tower=Theme |
| 2 | **die** | present | the host tree |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Gardeners pull out stranglers like ivy and bindweed.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:strangler:x7:1
# text = Gardeners pull out stranglers like ivy and bindweed.
1	Gardeners	gardener	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	pull	pull	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	out	out	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	stranglers	strangler	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	like	like	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	ivy	ivy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	bindweed	bindweed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pull out** | present | Gardeners | stranglers |  |  |  | like ivy and bindweed | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [strangle](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strangle/)
- next →: [strangulation](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strangulation/)
- ↑ back to [S in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/)