asphyxiates

present tense third-person singular of asphyxiate
as in strangles
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 Synonyms for asphyxiates
Verb
  • What worked at ten employees strangles progress at one hundred.
    Brent Gleeson, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
  • At that point, both Hsiao-Lee’s life and our perspective open up toward something more hopeful, even if plenty of turmoil — including another unbearable scene in which Chiang nearly strangles Chuan to death — continues back home.
    Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The line in Swift's song and The Life of a Showgirl's cover art appears to be inspired by a Victorian-era painting that depicts the scene in Hamlet when Ophelia goes crazy and falls into a stream and drowns after learning Hamlet killed her father.
    Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
  • If someone truly disrupts — won’t stop, drowns out others — escort them out and move on.
    Eric Preven, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
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.

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“Asphyxiates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asphyxiates. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

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