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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suffocate
His team suffocated opponents on defense and picked them apart on offense.
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Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
Wiholl Mock-Neck Lounge Set Similar to Hudson’s turtleneck sweater, this Wiholl two-piece has a similar high collar, except the mock-neck won’t feel as suffocating or uncomfortable.
—Alyssa Morin, InStyle, 1 Jan. 2026
Workers in the scrap yard were seen using construction equipment to try to suffocate the blaze.
—Kris Habermehl, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2025
Bryce Young and company were unable to get anything going against a suffocating Seattle defense, which has been one of the best units in the league all season long.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 28 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for suffocate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suffocate
Verb
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Fujita was 20 in 2013 when he was found guilty of strangling and stabbing his former high school girlfriend to death in Wayland.—
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Mostly, though, Boland strangles batters with his suffocating and deadly-accurate line and length.—
Verb
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This isn't the first time - or even the second - Johnson has used his training to save a child from choking.—
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Local news outlets, however, reported that the actor has been in an intensive care unit at a hospital in Seoul after collapsing while choking on food at his home.—
Verb
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My cat vomits once every week or two.—
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The predominant symptoms experienced by the ill passengers and crew members were vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps.—
Verb
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One villager has drowned in flash floods in the eastern province of Catanduanes, officials confirmed to the Associated Press, while another died in Catbalogan city in eastern Samar province after being pinned by debris from a collapsed home.—
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Even more poignant, however, is the Rosemary's Baby angle, where the innocence of childhood is drowned in blood and the notion that a young person reared in a loving environment should develop into a compassionate adult is perverted into unthinkable horror.—
Verb
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That is some smothering defense!—
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The matrilineal passage of power—made known by crying tears of blood—has been smothered and controlled by men, but thanks to their new abilities, the twins escape their mother and her malicious husband.—
Cite this Entry
“Suffocate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suffocate. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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