SUFFOCATE Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

suffocate

verb

ˈsə-fə-ˌkāt

Definition of suffocate

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

as in to choke

to keep (someone) from breathing by exerting pressure on the windpipe temporarily suffocated by the seat belt

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to vomit

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 suffocate The way to Mizzou’s historic day on the ground was paved by the team’s suffocating defense. — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 10 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby carved through three hitless innings to keep San Diego completely suffocated. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 Sierra pleaded guilty in August to the 2012 murders of his estranged wife, 29-year-old Gladys Machado, and her two daughters, 6-year-old Julia and 3-year-old Daniela Padrino, by suffocating them with a plastic bag. — Anna McAllister, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026 Experts back then warned that as trains got faster, passengers would suffocate, or that looking at unnaturally fast-moving scenery could permanently compromise visual processing. — Mark P. Mills, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for suffocate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for suffocate

Verb

In a counter claim, Xuan accused Diaz of being drunk at work and trying to strangle him.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
The latest slate of attacks is strangling a recovery in movement throughout the strait that had been building for weeks.

— Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of strangle

Verb

Bill Snyder’s second-greatest football achievement as Kansas State’s legendary head coach, after magically transforming the nation’s most moribund program into a national contender, was to choke the life from his school’s biggest rivalry game.

— Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2026
Among those arrested were individuals accused of choking their partners and assaulting their children, the sheriff’s office said.

— Tanya Babbar, Houston Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of choke

Verb

Investigators determined that Blake also had blunt-force injuries and signs of smothering.

— Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Their pursuit of a three-peat has been smothered by the Brewers’ own version of a three-peat, and nearly all hope is lost.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of smother

Browse Nearby Words

sufficing

suffocate

suffocated

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Style

“Suffocate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suffocate. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of suffocate

verb

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