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
  • Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, doesn’t deny strangling her children in the basement of their home in 2023.
    — Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Prosecutors allege Clancy planned the killings by sending her husband out on errands and then strangling the children with exercise bands while he was gone.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of strangling
Verb
  • Contributing factors included drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine.
    — Kalia Richardson, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Perry died in 2023 after injecting himself with ketamine and drowning in his hot tub.
    — Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 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 4 Sep. 2026.

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