1
[ adjective ] causing difficulty in breathing especially through lack of fresh air and presence of heat

Examples

"the choking June dust" "the smothering soft voices" "smothering heat" "the room was suffocating--hot and airless"

Used in print

(Jane Gilmore Rushing, "Against the Moon,"...)

There was the suggestion of ice_water , and - in_spite of the protest `` We 're not really thirsty '' - Linda_Kay , to escape the stuffy air and the smothering soft voices , hurried to the kitchen .

Related terms

breathless

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