How to Use suffocating in a Sentence

suffocating

adjective
  • The hours passed and even my sports bra and loose tank top became suffocating.
    Meryl Davis, SELF, 30 May 2018
  • To be an artist or a creator and not having been able to put an album out is very much suffocating.
    Chuck Dauphin, Billboard, 5 June 2018
  • The strength of the Midshipmen has been a suffocating defense.
    Edward Lee, baltimoresun.com, 15 Nov. 2019
  • At age 17, there are only so many ways a high school student can flee a suffocating life.
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024
  • The strategy against Joshua, Robles and Ruiz said, will be to cut off the ring and be as suffocating as possible.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Oct. 2019
  • More Tigers news: Fulmer wouldn’t last much longer in the suffocating upper-90 degree heat, pulled after two outs in the third inning.
    Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, 21 July 2017
  • The Bills will lean upon their suffocating defense, looking to shut down the Steelers.
    Joe Williams, USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire, 12 Dec. 2019
  • The suffocating Senators are up first and have home ice, but if Marchand can get on a roll and pile up the points, Boston won’t be an easy out for anyone.
    Stephen Whyno, The Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2017
  • And sparked by batters going for the fences to beat suffocating shifts, strikeouts set a record for the 12th year in a row and outnumbered hits for the second straight season.
    Ronald Blum, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2019
  • So the suffocating social milieu is defused by the mature perspective of a man who has survived to tell the tale.
    Christopher Arnott, courant.com, 16 Apr. 2018
  • The suffocating conditions did nothing to slow down UCF, which scored touchdowns on three of its first six possessions to start the game.
    Matt Murschel, OrlandoSentinel.com, 31 Aug. 2017
  • But living there, for me, was a little bit suffocating.
    Adam Tschorn, latimes.com, 19 Oct. 2017
  • The Badgers are grinding out wins with a suffocating defense and power run game that could propel them to a Big Ten title.
    Matt Murschel, orlandosentinel.com, 6 Oct. 2019
  • While both the flare shape and leather pants are nothing new, the combo of the two looks like a breezier, less suffocating way to wear the otherwise usually stiff fabric.
    Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2023
  • Here yet again was more, and more politically useful, proof that the closet is a toxic and suffocating place that can twist the soul.
    Kevin Riordan, Philly.com, 1 Nov. 2017
  • Suddenly, the Capitals are a suffocating defensive team that clogs the middle of the ice and makes even the fastest of opponents look slow.
    Stephen Whyno, baltimoresun.com, 3 June 2018
  • The Panthers watched their 18-point fourth-quarter lead dissipate down to two thanks to the Boxers’ suffocating press defense.
    Matt Doherty, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Feb. 2020
  • Miller’s defense was so suffocating that Bondy’s attack didn’t take its first shot at the goal until over three minutes had elapsed from the first-period clock.
    Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, 11 Dec. 2019
  • Europeans and tourists alike jumped into fountains, lakes, rivers, or the sea to escape a suffocating heat wave rising up from the Sahara.
    Natasha Livingstone, BostonGlobe.com, 26 July 2019
  • Indeed, there appears to be growing recognition in the White House of the suffocating cost of these disasters.
    Emily Atkin, New Republic, 26 Oct. 2017
  • The state continues to be ever-present and suffocating for Cubans seeking changes beyond the safety of business.
    Damien Cave, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2016
  • On those hot summer days, a lightweight style of summer suits for men is key for that polished and comfortable (ahem, non-suffocating) look.
    Christian Gollayan, menshealth.com, 8 Apr. 2023
  • Not as suffocating, however, as the crypt below, the Pantheon of the Kings, where the monarchs—and far too many of their infant children—have found their final resting place.
    Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 24 June 2019
  • The Golden Knights trudged their way through the 2023 playoff bracket thanks to a suffocating defensive system.
    Conor Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 21 June 2023
  • Temperature records fell across Europe last week as a suffocating heat wave swept up from the Sahara.
    Fox News, 1 Aug. 2019
  • And both teams can play suffocating defense at times although Michigan’s has been much better than MSU’s down the stretch including in the two meetings between the two teams.
    Jamie Samuelsen, Detroit Free Press, 13 Mar. 2018
  • Its corals have been decimated by the suffocating clouds of sand and sediment churned up by speedboats.
    NBC News, 31 May 2018
  • The Gamecocks had reeled off three consecutive 11-win seasons thanks in large part to a suffocating defense.
    Andy Staples, SI.com, 17 July 2017
  • For him as for most playwrights, the conjoint themes of society and self — twined in an embrace that is intimate yet suffocating — are the basis of all great theater.
    Jesse Green, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2018
  • With summer heat waves out in full force, even the daintiest of summer dresses can feel downright suffocating.
    Christian Allaire, Vogue, 1 July 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'suffocating.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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