breathless

adjective

ˈbreth-ləs How to pronounce breathless (audio)
Definition of breathlessnext
1
as in close
lacking fresh air the room was hot and breathless

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rapid
moving, proceeding, or acting with great speed ran at a breathless pace to get help

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in fallen
no longer living carried the breathless body of his beloved dog back home

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 breathless The press is breathless at the moment with predictions that if the conflict in Iran is not resolved before November’s midterms, Americans will turn on Republicans, ensuring Democrats seize control of both the House and the Senate. — Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 10 Sep. 2026 The award nominations and the breathless reviews are coming in hot with this one; so too the contrarian backlash. — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2026 Released in 2025, the first part of Julia Loktev’s monumental documentary project My Undesirable Friends, subtitled Last Air in Moscow, gave us a sprawling, breathless look at a few devastating months in the lives of Russian journalists. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026 During most preseasons, updates on freshman talent would be fodder for breathless headlines. — Pete Sampson, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for breathless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breathless
  1. close
  2. rapid
  3. fallen
  4. suffocating
  5. brisk
  6. dead
  7. stifling
  8. quick
Adjective
  • The first five conditions describe any lasting affectionate bond, such as a close friendship.
    — Pascal Vrticka, Scientific American, 4 Oct. 2026
  • While formally a candidate for European Union membership, Serbia’s accession process has stalled under Vucic, who maintains close ties with Russia and China.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of close
Adjective
  • Noonan's column also manifests the larger substantive concern, already being expressed by some of those involved in the rapid development of AI, that the new technology could escape human control and even threaten the existence of humankind.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Josemar Lauriano Pereira, a 46-year-old lawyer, said that the rapid availability of results helped combat fraud and uncertainty.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of rapid
Adjective
  • While the university grappled with yet another football scandal, an Ann Arbor moving crew simply got to work—sorting, packing and hauling away the remnants of a fallen career, one item at a time, over the span of six hours.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Beside a fallen tree, McCormack points out how a beaver chewed more deeply into one side of the trunk, bringing it down into the water.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of fallen
Adjective
  • Scientists suspect that the combination of high heat and a suffocating deep-tropical air mass will be considered the worst humidity the region has experienced in the modern era.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Eilish will play Greenwood, the brilliant young woman at the center of Plath’s semi-autobiographical story, which follows her descent into mental illness amid the suffocating expectations placed on women in 1950s America.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of suffocating
Adjective
  • But adding just five more minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, every day could prevent up to 10% of premature deaths, according to a large observational study.
    — Ann Pietrangelo, Verywell Health, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Fall’s brisk weather brings with it the promise of cozy knitwear, cashmere socks, and roaring fires—perhaps the only downside is that the grey skies exacerbate the our considerable vitamin D deficiency.
    — Violet Hayward, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of brisk
Adjective
  • To assist Noah, Sinestro has also forged a new lantern from the water on this dead alien planet — imbued with Zoe’s fear toxins — causing golden cracks in the object’s surface.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Urker, who also fathered a baby girl, Aurora, with Blanchard, was found dead Thursday in Raceland, Louisiana.
    — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of dead
Adjective
  • For all the deserved talk about the Knicks’ dynamic offense, the defense has been far more stifling than their reputation suggests.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 15 May 2026
  • Her mother, who had a staid upbringing in California, came to New York in the early sixties looking for someplace more diverse and less stifling.
    — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026
Definition of stifling
Adjective
  • Set the scene My Uber ride from Santa Fe’s Regional Airport was a quick 15 minutes.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The activewear market has been especially quick to adopt these changes.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of quick

Browse Nearby Words

breathing (out)
breathless
breaths
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Breathless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breathless. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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