as in strangled
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 asphyxiated
In Oregon in February 2023, a 23-month-old child was asphyxiated after his shirt got caught on one of the hooks while climbing and crawling through the opening at the back of the play kitchen where the toy kitchen accessories are held, per the CPSC.
—
Chad Murphy, The Enquirer, 5 Aug. 2025
Chad Murphy, The Enquirer, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asphyxiated
Verb
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During the previous school year, the boy strangled and choked a teacher and pulled up a female classmate’s dress and touched her inappropriately on the school playground, the lawsuit claims.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
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Their conversation eventually turned violent, leading Packer to call the police after Sweeney had strangled Dunne to the point of unconsciousness.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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One villager has drowned in flash floods in the eastern province of Catanduanes, officials confirmed to the Associated Press, while another died in Catbalogan city in eastern Samar province after being pinned by debris from a collapsed home.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
9 Nov. 2025
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Even more poignant, however, is the Rosemary's Baby angle, where the innocence of childhood is drowned in blood and the notion that a young person reared in a loving environment should develop into a compassionate adult is perverted into unthinkable horror.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Asphyxiated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asphyxiated. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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