as in to strangle
to cause (someone) to stop breathing and often to become unconscious and die
The murder victim was asphyxiated.
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Recent Examples of asphyxiate
But the indictment returned by a Georgia grand jury in May detailed a gruesome confrontation in which Ibarra allegedly asphyxiated the student, hit her over the head with a rock to the point of disfiguring her skull, and pulled up her clothing, intending to rape her.
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Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 20 Nov. 2024
She was struck in the head with a rock several times and asphyxiated, according to court documents.
—Nicole Chavez, CNN, 20 Nov. 2024
Both men asphyxiated from a toxic concentration of hydrogen sulfide inside the hold, according to Danish maritime authorities.
—USA TODAY, 25 Sep. 2024
On the occasion of his 100th birthday last week, former-President Jimmy Carter received praise from across the political spectrum for his leadership in freeing important parts of the U.S. economy from the asphyxiating tentacles of the regulatory state.
—Dan Ikenson, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for asphyxiate 
Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 20 Nov. 2024
She was struck in the head with a rock several times and asphyxiated, according to court documents.
—Nicole Chavez, CNN, 20 Nov. 2024
Both men asphyxiated from a toxic concentration of hydrogen sulfide inside the hold, according to Danish maritime authorities.
—USA TODAY, 25 Sep. 2024
On the occasion of his 100th birthday last week, former-President Jimmy Carter received praise from across the political spectrum for his leadership in freeing important parts of the U.S. economy from the asphyxiating tentacles of the regulatory state.
—Dan Ikenson, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for asphyxiate
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Cite this Entry
“Asphyxiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asphyxiate. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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