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
  • The victim in the case was just 7 years old when she was kidnapped, raped, strangled, stuffed in the trunk of a car and then thrown off a bridge after being wrapped in a blanket and having a bag tied over her head, according to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office.
    Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The man allegedly had strangled his wife, repeatedly punched her in the head and forced her to walk around naked.
    Kristi Miller, Twin Cities, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • De’Andre Johnson ambushed and choked the agent in a DCS office, livestreaming the attack on Facebook.
    Miguel Torres, AZCentral.com, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Court documents now identify him as the victim of a brutal assault during which he was bound by a bedsheet, choked and beaten.
    Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 3 Sep. 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
  • And in September 2024, Kyle Brinker, 33, drowned during an annual swim test at the swimming pool at the Gladstone Community Center.
    Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Many Allied soldiers drowned, hit mines or were cut down by Nazi machine gun crossfire.
    Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 8 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 16 Sep. 2025.

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