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
In February 2023, a 23-month-old child in Oregon who was climbing on the back of the play kitchen asphyxiated after his shirt got caught on one of the hooks.
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Melina Khan, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2025
Cartman then attempts and fails to asphyxiate himself — and Butters — in a car for the rest of the episode.
—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
That same year, a 42-year-old man asphyxiated during a donut eating contest.
—Paula Cohen, CBS News, 4 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for asphyxiate
Melina Khan, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2025
Cartman then attempts and fails to asphyxiate himself — and Butters — in a car for the rest of the episode.
—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
That same year, a 42-year-old man asphyxiated during a donut eating contest.
—Paula Cohen, CBS News, 4 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for asphyxiate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asphyxiate
Verb
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He was sentenced to die in 1983 for raping and strangling a woman in Newberry County and stealing her jewelry, according to court records.—
Greg Norman,
FOXNews.com,
11 Oct. 2025
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In March 1977, Rader strangled Shirley Vian, followed by Nancy Fox that December.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Amber Smith and her husband, Granger Smith, lived every parent’s worst nightmare in 2019 when their 3-year-old son, River, drowned in the family’s backyard pool.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
19 Oct. 2025
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The couple had three children, the eldest of whom — Rupert — drowned off the West African coast in 1986.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
18 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Asphyxiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asphyxiate. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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