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
  • Law enforcement confirmed that in one of the hundreds of thousands of videos that exist, Raymond Horsch is seen strangling a woman with a zip tie, which sources say would implicate him in murder.
    — Joe Holden, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of strangling
Verb
  • In 1992, on a factory floor in a Toyota auto-parts subsidiary in Japan, workers were drowning in barcodes.
    — HubSpot, HubSpot, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, the person on the other side of the table is drowning.
    — Omer Qureshi, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of drowning

Browse Nearby Words

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 3 Oct. 2026.

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