Used of a sound — a cry, a laugh, a sob, a shout — 'strangled' means it came out but was cut off before it finished, so it sounds tight, small and choked. 'She gave a strangled cry and covered her mouth.' 'He made a strangled sound, half laugh, half sob.' The idea is that something is squeezing the sound in the throat: fear, tears, shock, or the person deliberately holding it back because they must not be heard.

Used of a sound — a cry, a laugh, a sob, a shout —用在聲音上——像哭喊、笑聲、啜泣、叫喊——，'strangled' means it came out but was cut off before it finished'strangled' 是指那個聲音發出來了，卻在還沒發完之前就被截斷，so it sounds tight, small and choked所以聽起來緊緊的、小小的、悶悶的，像被掐住一樣。 'She gave a strangled cry and covered her mouth.'像 'She gave a strangled cry and covered her mouth.'（她發出一聲被掐住的叫聲，摀住了嘴）。'He made a strangled sound, half laugh, half sob.''He made a strangled sound, half laugh, half sob.'（他發出一聲被掐住的聲音，一半是笑，一半是哭）。The idea is that something is squeezing the sound in the throat重點是有東西在喉嚨裡把這個聲音掐住了：fear, tears, shock可能是害怕、眼淚、驚嚇，or the person deliberately holding it back because they must not be heard也可能是這個人故意忍住，因為不能被聽見。

So a strangled laugh is not a free laugh — it is a laugh someone is trying to swallow. Writers love this word because it tells you the emotion and the effort to hide it in one stroke.

So a strangled laugh is not a free laugh所以 strangled laugh 不是自然放開的笑，— it is a laugh someone is trying to swallow——而是一個人正努力想把它吞回去的笑。 Writers love this word作家很愛用這個字，because it tells you the emotion and the effort to hide it in one stroke因為它一個字就同時告訴你當下的情緒，以及想把它藏起來的努力。

It can also describe a voice: 'in a strangled voice' means thick and constricted with feeling. The literal sense is behind it — to strangle is to kill by squeezing the throat — and the sound word borrows exactly that squeezing, without anyone being hurt.

It can also describe a voice它也可以用來形容嗓音：'in a strangled voice' means thick and constricted with feeling'in a strangled voice' 意思是聲音因為情緒而變得濃濁、緊繃。 The literal sense is behind it這個字背後其實是它的原意——to strangle is to kill by squeezing the throatstrangle 本來是指掐住喉嚨把人殺死——and the sound word borrows exactly that squeezing形容聲音時，借用的正是那種「掐緊」的感覺，without anyone being hurt只是這裡沒有人真的受傷。

It is used mostly in written narrative, not in casual conversation.

It is used mostly in written narrative這個字主要用在書面敘述裡，not in casual conversation不常出現在日常對話中。