suffocated 1 of 2

past tense of suffocate
1
as in strangled
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
as in throttled
to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe temporarily suffocated by the seat belt

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3
as in vomited
to experience complete or partial blockage of the windpipe suffocating in the thick, black smoke of the burning building

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suffocated

2 of 2

adjective

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 suffocated
Verb
Since Ibsen wrote the suffocated aristocrat with her poison tongue into existence 135 years ago, titans of theatre have grappled with Gabler. Ben Jureidini, Them., 22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
People crushed or suffocated in stampedes. Beth Bailey, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2025 The Utes executed with precision, scoring on six of seven red zone trips and converting 14 of 16 third-down attempts while their defense suffocated the Bruins. Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Sep. 2025 Cost-cutting and scale weren’t enough to defend against shifting consumer behavior and a bloated structure that suffocated innovation. Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025 Black business districts, starved of capital and infrastructure, began to collapse — not because of a lack of innovation or ambition, but because they were suffocated financially. Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025 Miami’s struggle with the run game suffocated the offense last season, forcing the Dolphins’ passing game to become a dink-and-dunk style offense since opposing safeties backed up further than usual to prevent the deep ball. Miami Herald, 24 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suffocated
Verb
  • Kennedy, 71, has spasmodic dysphonia, a rare neurological condition in which the muscles that open and close his vocal cords spasm involuntarily, creating a strained or strangled quality to his speech.
    Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The women were strangled and rendered unconscious during the attack.
    Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • On the first day of school in August 2023, Jayne Watkin watched as one of her new students came off the bus and double-hand choked three of his peers — an example of the violent behavior that would later extend to her classroom.
    IndyStar, IndyStar, 3 Sep. 2025
  • All three lakes, man-made in the mid-20th century to accompany thousands of housing units, are regularly choked with algae.
    Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Max urinated and vomited on himself, went into cardiac arrest and ultimately, lost consciousness during his prolonged restraint.
    Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 9 Aug. 2025
  • Eugene is less convinced of the wisdom of this endeavor, and his idea for nourishing the Clockwork Boy — feeding him honey — is projectile-vomited back in his face.
    Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • At least four people drowned at McKinley Beach alone in 2020, which prompted Milwaukee County officials to close it for the remainder of the year — though the closure actually lasted until last spring, with restoration effort complications and an active lifeguard shortage.
    Cailey Gleeson, jsonline.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Through last Saturday, at least 32 people had drowned in Lake Michigan this year, according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, which tracks deaths on all five Great Lakes.
    Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • With all these no-shows this year, shouldn’t City Hall reach out in the spirit of bipartisanship and extend an invite to the extinguished solon Tran?
    Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The story of damped harmonic systems goes back to 1900, when British physicist Horace Lamb built a simple mathematical model of a particle vibrating inside a solid.
    Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 16 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Suffocated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suffocated. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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