1
as in to strangle
to be or cause to be killed by lack of breathable air
the law requires the owner of a discarded refrigerator to remove its door so that a child won't get trapped inside and suffocate
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suffocate
The mixture will suffocate the wasps, killing them instantly.
—
Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 5 Mar. 2026
The trial stems from a lawsuit filed in 2024 that alleged the companies have dominated the industry by suffocating competitors and controlling everything from concert promotion to ticketing.
—Larry Neumeister, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2026
Other alternatives to spraying include laying down cardboard or dark plastic to suffocate weeds, though this can take weeks to kill off weeds.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 Mar. 2026
What did work in one of the older movies, though, was the Oxygen Destroyer device, which effectively suffocates the creature.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for suffocate
Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 5 Mar. 2026
The trial stems from a lawsuit filed in 2024 that alleged the companies have dominated the industry by suffocating competitors and controlling everything from concert promotion to ticketing.
—Larry Neumeister, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2026
Other alternatives to spraying include laying down cardboard or dark plastic to suffocate weeds, though this can take weeks to kill off weeds.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 Mar. 2026
What did work in one of the older movies, though, was the Oxygen Destroyer device, which effectively suffocates the creature.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for suffocate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suffocate
Verb
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Jorge Landeros, 56, was sentenced to 25 years in prison more than a decade after reportedly fatally beating and strangling a 52-year-old American University accounting professor in her Maryland home.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Mar. 2026
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Willacy reportedly struck Sather in the head several times with a blunt object, then bound her hands and ankles before attempting to strangle her with a telephone cord.—
News Service Of Florida,
Sun Sentinel,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Like other invasive plants, stinknet chokes native plants and increases fire risk.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
13 Mar. 2026
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With fuel and freight prices skyrocketing as war chokes the Strait of Hormuz, the Panama Canal is seeing more business than usual.—
Elizabeth González,
CNN Money,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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His mother told reporters that Liam had a fever, was vomiting, and refused to eat.—
Caitlin Dickerson,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2026
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The dogs have scented from a wall someone touched, the dirt a person stumbled in and vomit on a car door.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Elevated surf also frequently results in strong rip currents which can drag people away from the shore and possibly result in drowning.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
16 Mar. 2026
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Joshua Duckett was three years old when his father was sent to Florida’s Death Row, convicted of raping, choking and drowning a fifth-grade girl while on duty as a police officer for the small rural town of Mascotte in Lake County.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And that’s the exact advantage Mansfield Summit’s smothering defense created in the Class 5A Division II state championship.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 Mar. 2026
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Invasive species smother out the state’s iconic flora and fauna.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Suffocate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suffocate. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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