CHOKING Synonyms: 69 Similar and Opposite Words

choking

verb

Definition of choking

present participle of choke

as in strangling

to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe let go of my throat—you're choking me!

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in vomiting

to experience complete or partial blockage of the windpipe the recommended procedure for helping someone who is choking

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in drowning

to be or cause to be killed by lack of breathable air thick, black smoke choked the trapped firefighters

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in blocking

to prevent passage through by filling with something overgrown bushes choked the narrow alleyway between the buildings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 choking Since babies explore with their mouths, the balls could become a choking hazard. — Sari Hitchins, Parents, 6 July 2026 The brand has received no reports of injury or death but did warn that consuming the metal and plastic parts could cause choking, lacerations or blockages in the gastrointestinal tract. — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 6 July 2026 Eddie Jenkins had been arrested for domestic battery for allegedly choking Kiara Jenkins in 2009, prosecutors said. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 1 July 2026 In another corner of the pool, Garland Jones is working with Mackenzie Wesley on safe breathing techniques above the water because, in the past, putting her face under water has been uncomfortable and led to choking. — Jonaki Mehta, NPR, 1 July 2026 Prosecutors laid out the deadly choking incident as the last straw, according to CBS and News 12. — Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026 Harry Styles’ brief but jarring collapse during his London performance this weekend was not a result of the heatwave affecting Europe, but choking. — Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 29 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for choking

Verb

In December 2023, Sarah Steele accused Jacob Wulfson, a US air force captain also based at Lakenheath, of drugging, assaulting and strangling her after meeting via a dating app.

— Will Barker, TheWeek, 8 July 2026
Another 74-year-old, Dennis Sochor, is scheduled to die July 14 for strangling an 18-year-old woman in Broward County on New Year’s Eve 1981.

— Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 July 2026

Definition of strangling

Verb

Investigation and potential parental charges While the medical response faces scrutiny, local law enforcement is focusing on the events leading up to the near-drowning.

— Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 8 July 2026
The death marked the fourth fatal drowning on the Lake of the Ozarks in 2026, according to the patrol’s data.

— Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 6 July 2026

Definition of drowning

Verb

In May, Darwin filed a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking the state from imposing the new rules.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
The other thing that’s happening is that the federal government is affirmatively blocking state and local investigators from conducting their own separate probes.

— Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026

Definition of blocking

Verb

Dugan's case marked the first time that a state judge in Wisconsin went to trial on charges of obstructing immigration agents.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 July 2026
Dugan’s case was a first for Wisconsin Dugan’s case marked the first time that a state judge in Wisconsin went to trial on charges of obstructing immigration agents.

— Claire Savage, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026

Definition of obstructing

Verb

As the Starlink signal is almost impossible to disrupt by jamming, the idea that Russia might consider wiping the megaconstellation out by brute force didn't seem impossible.

— Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 8 July 2026
In 1976, Miami Marine Stadium’s bicentennial fireworks show drew a causeway-jamming capacity crowd of 15,000 while a downtown Miami parade attracted about 5,000 people.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026

Definition of jamming

Verb

This time, the smiles, the hugs, the radiant joy filling Atlanta Stadium could have powered the entire state of Georgia.

— Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Tacori skipped the orderly line of a tennis necklace, arranging mixed-cut diamonds in two close rows with smaller stones filling the narrow spaces between them.

— Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 7 July 2026