as in gasps
to breathe hard, quickly, or with difficulty
he was so nervous he began hyperventilating, and the extra oxygen made him dizzy
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Recent Examples of hyperventilates
Belly hyperventilates and runs to the bathroom to calm down with Taylor.
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Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hyperventilates
Verb
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Upon announcing her status as a Faithful, the whole room gasps.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
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The rest of the gang rushes inside to be at Eleven’s side and save the children who are trapped inside on the Pain Tree, while Vecna burbles and gasps for air.—
Yohana Desta,
Rolling Stone,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Its large kangaroo pocket—in tandem with the jogger pants’ two deep side pockets—provides plenty of storage for your most important in-flight essentials.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Dec. 2025
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And for your downtime, stock up on comfortable and casual staples like Levi’s jeans and the Spanx pants that Reese Witherspoon just wore.—
Alyssa Grabinski,
PEOPLE,
1 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hyperventilates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hyperventilates. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
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