ASPHYXIATING Synonyms: 22 Similar and Opposite Words

asphyxiating

verb

present participle of asphyxiate

as in strangling

to cause (someone) to stop breathing and often to become unconscious and die The murder victim was asphyxiated.

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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 asphyxiating 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 Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, then knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes, asphyxiating him. — Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson, San Antonio Express-News, 16 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for asphyxiating

Verb

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
Jurors continue to speak out in the days after a mistrial was declared for Massachusetts mom Lindsay Clancy in the strangling deaths of her three children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan.

— Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of strangling

Verb

An expert in vehicle-drowning deaths explained in 2017 how evidence pointed to an accidental death when a University of Missouri-Kansas City student’s body was found in the Missouri River.

— Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of drowning

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asphyxiates

asphyxiating

aspirant

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“Asphyxiating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asphyxiating. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of asphyxiating

verb

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