ASPHYXIATE Synonyms: 22 Similar and Opposite Words

asphyxiate

verb

Definition of asphyxiate

as in to strangle

to cause (someone) to stop breathing and often to become unconscious and die The murder victim was asphyxiated.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of asphyxiate Mexican authorities found Erbach’s body alongside a road outside the city two days later, and determined he had been asphyxiated. — Steve Fisher, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2026 The petition, which was granted by a federal judge, cited reports alleging that guards at the facility choked and asphyxiated Campos. — Armando Garcia, ABC News, 10 June 2026 The 10-mile-high plume asphyxiated around 200,000 residents but also preserved the city in remarkable detail. — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 3 June 2026 The fine ash preserved the site but asphyxiated 200,000 residents. — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for asphyxiate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for asphyxiate

Verb

The erosion of ocean governance could pave the way for China to blockade Taiwan, Russia to strangle Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, or the United States to seize maritime control around Greenland.

— Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026
The shipping strikes aimed to strangle Crimea into an energy and supply crisis.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of strangle

Verb

Workers and employers are drowning in their health insurance premiums.

— Bob Herman, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
And three, sometimes four, of those many waking hours are spent in the car — bouncing from home to school to her second or third job and home again — with music at full blast to drown out the babble of anxiety, most of it financial.

— Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of drown

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“Asphyxiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asphyxiate. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of asphyxiate

verb

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