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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Recent Examples of asphyxiate
Cartman then attempts and fails to asphyxiate himself — and Butters — in a car for the rest of the episode.
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Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 24 July 2025
Spota was the working prosecutor on the case of Johnny Pius, a young boy who was found beaten and asphyxiated in his Smithtown, Long Island schoolyard in April 1979.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 28 Mar. 2025
In court, his lawyers argued that officers compressed his chest with their body weight, leading him to asphyxiate.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 2025
Medical examiner says Riley was asphyxiated and had blunt-force head trauma
Riley’s father, mother and stepfather left the courtroom before a medical examiner testified about their daughter’s injuries and cause of death.
—Holly Yan, CNN, 19 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for asphyxiate
Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 24 July 2025
Spota was the working prosecutor on the case of Johnny Pius, a young boy who was found beaten and asphyxiated in his Smithtown, Long Island schoolyard in April 1979.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 28 Mar. 2025
In court, his lawyers argued that officers compressed his chest with their body weight, leading him to asphyxiate.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 2025
Medical examiner says Riley was asphyxiated and had blunt-force head trauma
Riley’s father, mother and stepfather left the courtroom before a medical examiner testified about their daughter’s injuries and cause of death.
—Holly Yan, CNN, 19 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for asphyxiate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asphyxiate
Verb
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The company, which also owns the swankier Bloomingdales brand and cosmetics retailer Bluemercury, barely made it out of the pandemic after lockdowns strangled in-store shopping and drove customers ever closer to Amazon and other big-box retailers.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
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The women were strangled and rendered unconscious during the attack.—
Ryan Murphy,
IndyStar,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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After a man drowned off a popular Anna Maria Island beach over the Labor Day weekend, city officials are speeding up plans to ban swimming in the area.—
Ryan Ballogg,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
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On Wednesday, as one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims spoke outside the Capitol, pleading for government candor, fighter jets roared overhead, briefly drowning her out.—
Michelle Goldberg,
Mercury News,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Asphyxiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asphyxiate. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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