asphyxiation
noun
as·phyx·i·ation
as-ˌfik-sē-ˈā-shən 
əs-
: deprivation of oxygen that can result in unconsciousness and often death : an act of asphyxiating a person or animal or a state of asphyxia : suffocation
The autopsy showed that the cause of death was asphyxiation.
Pliny the Elder did not die of falling pumice, but of asphyxiation, as he breathed noxious fumes from the eruption.—
Sidney Perkowitz
Sidney PerkowitzAsphyxiation at birth caused permanent impairment of his nerve-signaling system …—Ann Geracimos
Ann GeracimosIn rats, mice, and rabbits ciguatera poison causes death by asphyxiation.—Kwang-ming Li
Kwang-ming LiExamples of asphyxiation in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jeffrey Lee was scheduled to be put to death on July 11 for a 1998 double murder, but challenged the relatively new form of execution — a kind of asphyxiation by gas — which has led to some inmates dying slow, painful death, despite claims that the method is more humane than others.
—Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2026
She was found dead under her bed just before noon the next day, and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office later determined her cause of death to be mechanical asphyxiation and her manner of death to be homicide.
—Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026
The Florida high school senior died from mechanical asphyxiation, officials said.
—Doug Lantz, ABC News, 15 June 2026
The lack of oxygen eventually causes death from asphyxiation.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for asphyxiation
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Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2026
She was found dead under her bed just before noon the next day, and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office later determined her cause of death to be mechanical asphyxiation and her manner of death to be homicide.
—Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026
The Florida high school senior died from mechanical asphyxiation, officials said.
—Doug Lantz, ABC News, 15 June 2026
The lack of oxygen eventually causes death from asphyxiation.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for asphyxiation
Cite this Entry
“Asphyxiation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/asphyxiation. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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