1
as in to strangle
to be or cause to be killed by lack of breathable air
the law requires the owner of a discarded refrigerator to remove its door so that a child won't get trapped inside and suffocate
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2
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suffocate
The mixture will suffocate the wasps, killing them instantly.
—
Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 5 Mar. 2026
The trial stems from a lawsuit filed in 2024 that alleged the companies have dominated the industry by suffocating competitors and controlling everything from concert promotion to ticketing.
—Larry Neumeister, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2026
Other alternatives to spraying include laying down cardboard or dark plastic to suffocate weeds, though this can take weeks to kill off weeds.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 Mar. 2026
What did work in one of the older movies, though, was the Oxygen Destroyer device, which effectively suffocates the creature.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for suffocate
Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 5 Mar. 2026
The trial stems from a lawsuit filed in 2024 that alleged the companies have dominated the industry by suffocating competitors and controlling everything from concert promotion to ticketing.
—Larry Neumeister, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2026
Other alternatives to spraying include laying down cardboard or dark plastic to suffocate weeds, though this can take weeks to kill off weeds.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 Mar. 2026
What did work in one of the older movies, though, was the Oxygen Destroyer device, which effectively suffocates the creature.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for suffocate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suffocate
Verb
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Police responded to the halfway house after Grayson missed multiple appointments later in the day and found that she had been strangled.—
Livi Stanford,
Hartford Courant,
8 Mar. 2026
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She had been strangled with a wire, which was still around her neck.—
Audrey Abrahams,
NBC news,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Iran may soon run out of drones, yet has other asymmetrical options – such as choking the Strait of Hormuz or plotting terror on foreign soil – that can irritate the US and disrupt peace.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
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Chan then forced Tay to drink rubbing alcohol and sealed his moth with duct tape — forcing him to choke on his own vomit — before burying him in the makeshift grave.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The dogs have scented from a wall someone touched, the dirt a person stumbled in and vomit on a car door.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Mar. 2026
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Absinthe-eyed, she projectile-vomits blunt observations and also oysters onto the heavies, overimbibing her way into her own grave once she’s inevitably discarded with a shot and shove down a stairwell (a barely-there John Magaro plays one of the gangsters).—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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George Seda, the police boss in Nairobi, said Saturday that six people drowned and two others were electrocuted, warning that the death toll may rise as search and rescue operations continue.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 Mar. 2026
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When Christina drowns herself for a second time, Baron Frankenstein is confronted by the unpredictability of stitching together dead flesh—his female creation is capable of reckoning with her past suffering.—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Less than a mile away, the corps is planning to deepen and widen the shipping channel leading into Port Everglades, blasting through the reef line and dredging up sediment that could smother acres of surrounding coral, according to federal scientists.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Mar. 2026
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However, improving the soil in a lawn is more difficult because adding more than 1 inch of organic matter as a top-dressing can smother the grass.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Suffocate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suffocate. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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