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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suffocate
More capital might benefit some borrowers, but more frequently would suffocate companies with greater debt burdens.
—
Mike Terwilliger, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2025
Nelson beat Arlington pastor Clinton Dobson and suffocated him with a plastic bag.
—Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2025
Sheep’s wool is also highly damaging to vital river systems, as excrement from the UK’s 31 million sheep and chemical sheep dips run into waterways, causing suffocating eutrophication.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Oct. 2025
That game was slow-paced and defensively suffocating.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for suffocate
Mike Terwilliger, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2025
Nelson beat Arlington pastor Clinton Dobson and suffocated him with a plastic bag.
—Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2025
Sheep’s wool is also highly damaging to vital river systems, as excrement from the UK’s 31 million sheep and chemical sheep dips run into waterways, causing suffocating eutrophication.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Oct. 2025
That game was slow-paced and defensively suffocating.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for suffocate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suffocate
Verb
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China, in turn, imposed new strangling restrictions on the export of seven rare earth minerals.—
Mira Rapp-Hooper,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
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The victim that day was 55-year-old Anna Elza Slesers, who was found strangled to death in her Boston apartment.—
Jane LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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During the previous school year, the boy strangled and choked a teacher and pulled up a female classmate’s dress and touched her inappropriately on the school playground, the lawsuit claims.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
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The figure of Achilles, a warrior who singlehandedly choked a river with dead enemies before taking on the river god himself, provided a model for Alexander the Great and persists in contemporary popular entertainment, political speech, and military culture in celebrations of shock and awe.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The 75-year-old ginkgo trees have been wafting the unpleasant smell into the air at the Northern California park, forcing residents to brave the stench that is comparable to vomit, The Sacramento Bee and SFGATE report.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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Robert returns to his desk only to find that Invisigal had stolen him a donut as a gesture of good faith, which is now smeared all over his keyboard for the new janitor, Water Boy, to clean by vomiting H20 on the mess.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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When the bodies of the drowned are retrieved, they’re sent to Alexandroupoli to be identified.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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In an effort to save their relationship, Smith drowned her two young sons.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Wildlife exposed to oil and grease can suffer fatal effects — the substance can coat feathers and fur, impairing mobility and body temperature regulation, or smother aquatic plants that other species depend on for food and oxygen.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
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Heavy leaf accumulation will smother the lawn, so rake the leaves and redistribute them to garden beds or an out-of-the-way corner.—
Erica Browne Grivas,
Better Homes & Gardens,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Suffocate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suffocate. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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