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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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 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
  1. strangling
  2. drowning
Verb
  • The prosecution says Clancy planned and executed the murders by sending her husband, Patrick Clancy, out of the house on errands, then strangling the children with exercise bands in the basement of their Duxbury home.
    — Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Clancy jumped out a window after strangling the children to death and was paralyzed in the fall.
    — Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of strangling
Verb
  • Two of the remains found in 2022 belonged to drowning victims.
    — Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The Port of Los Angeles forklift driver was wearing a life vest and was floating away, out to sea -- cold, worried about sharks and drowning.
    — Michele Gile, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of drowning

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asphyxiates
asphyxiating
aspirant
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Cite this Entry

“Asphyxiating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asphyxiating. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on asphyxiating

Nglish: Translation of asphyxiating for Spanish Speakers

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