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 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 The burns cause swelling, the airways close, and the victim can asphyxiate. — Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 22 May 2026 Tarrant County prosecutors said Busby and an accomplice abducted Crane, 77, from a grocery store parking lot, robbed her and then asphyxiated her with duct tape, wrapping 14 layers around her face. — Erik Ortiz, NBC news, 20 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for asphyxiate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for asphyxiate

Verb

His arrest report also states that Hunter strangled the woman with his knee while pinning her to the floor.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
After fatally strangling the children, Clancy attempted suicide by cutting her wrists and jumping out of a second-story window.

— Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of strangle

Verb

The film is also Diop’s first narrative film, taking the court case of Fabienne Kabou, a Senegalese French woman who was ultimately convicted of murder for drowning her child, as inspiration.

— Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Nobody wanted to look at it or think about those five children being drowned in Andrea Yates’s bathtub.

— Jaha Nailah Avery, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026