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.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 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 The indictment charges Horner with strangling, smothering or asphyxiating Athena while in the course of kidnapping her. — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Apr. 2026 Like being asphyxiated in a ball pit filled with candy, the experience of watching The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is at once kaleidoscopic and nerve-wracking. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for asphyxiate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for asphyxiate

Verb

Both concluded that Leslie had been hit over the head and strangled.

— Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2026
Prosecutors allege that Lindsay methodically planned the murders by sending her husband to pick up medication and takeout, and then strangling the children with exercise bands at their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home.

— Melina Khan, USA Today, 30 July 2026

Definition of strangle

Verb

More than 80 migrants died, including some who drowned or were trampled in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier, according to Spanish and Moroccan authorities.

— ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
Multiple media outlets reported that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified the body as Best on Monday afternoon and ruled his cause of death as drowning.

— Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 3 Aug. 2026