Synonyms of breathing

breathing 1 of 2

adjective

as in alive

having or showing life

realized that he didn't need a comic-book superhero, since he had a real, breathing hero in his father

Synonyms & Similar Words

• alive
• live
• living
• animate
• active
• animated
• dynamic
• surviving
• quick
• lively
• thriving
• existing
• vibrant
• vigorous
• current
• going
• existent
• prevailing
• vivacious
• vital
• extant
• resurrected

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cold
• dead
• dying
• inanimate
• deceased
• breathless
• lifeless
• expired
• asleep
• nonliving
• departed
• fading
• defunct
• moribund
• resting
• stillborn
• gone
• ghostly
• absent
• nonexistent
• ghostlike
• vanished
• terminated
• wiped out
• finished
• extinct
• fallen
• lost
• lapsed
• barren
• desert
• reposing
• zombielike
• ghosty
• perished

breathing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of breathe

1

as in snoring

to inhale and exhale air

sometimes it gets so hot in here that it's hard to even breathe

Synonyms & Similar Words

• snoring
• respiring
• gasping
• panting
• wheezing
• inspiring
• huffing
• puffing
• blowing (out)
• inbreathing
• sniffing
• drawing
• snorting
• yawning
• snuffing
• snuffling
• expiring
• whiffing
• suspiring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• choking
• suffocating
• asphyxiating
• smothering
• gagging
• stifling
• strangling
• throttling
• garroting

2

as in living

to have life

as long as I breathe, you will have a place to stay

Synonyms & Similar Words

• living
• being
• existing
• ruling
• subsisting
• surviving
• kicking
• continuing
• keeping (on)
• enduring
• lasting
• leading
• abiding
• flourishing
• persisting
• running on
• moving
• holding on
• holding up
• thriving
• prospering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dying
• departing
• expiring
• succumbing
• perishing
• vanishing
• disappearing
• passing away
• evaporating
• stopping
• ending
• ceasing
• dying (down)
• quitting
• discontinuing
• subsiding
• ebbing
• waning
• moderating
• abating
• desisting
• letting up

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of breathing

Verb

Derek wants to hear Julia audibly breathing next week, which is both a hilarious and insane request. — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2026

Alexander Schecter, 26, was reported by a family member as unconscious and not breathing at his family’s residence in the 800 block of San Vicente Boulevard on Monday evening, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

The fingerprints of ’90s vocalists breathing love and pain into every note on the track resonated with listeners both inside and outside of the genre. — Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 5 Oct. 2026

The blue accents offered a refreshing reprieve from the almost all-white base, breathing life into the silhouette. — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 4 Oct. 2026

Witnesses to the execution said late Wednesday that authorities appeared to administer two rounds of lethal pentobarbital, but that Pike appeared to still be breathing an hour later when witnesses were escorted out of the chamber. — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026

The filing also alleges Pike suggested where staff should try inserting the IV, one needle was bent at a 90-degree angle when it was removed, and she could be heard crying, whimpering and breathing loudly throughout the procedure. — Greg Wehner , Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026

She was rushed to hospital, still breathing, after receiving two doses of pentobarbital. — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 1 Oct. 2026

Christa Pike continued breathing for nearly an hour after she was administered lethal drugs in Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. — Victoria Craw, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2026