breathing 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of breathingnext
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in living
to have life as long as I breathe, you will have a place to stay

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 breathing
Verb
Cold water triggers an immediate stress response that spikes heart rate, speeds breathing and constricts blood vessels. — Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026 The mother of a toddler who was found breathing in a hospital morgue hours after being pronounced dead is speaking out about the shocking incident. — ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026 After all, the women at the center of these memes are real, living, breathing people and not just AI bots. — Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 21 Oct. 2026 Symptoms of a pulmonary embolism include chest pain that can worsen when breathing deeply or coughing. — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026 Someone else might see one for a thyroid tumor, a voice that won’t return after a cold, or trouble breathing during sleep. — Angela Haupt, Time, 16 Oct. 2026 In each case, the baby was not breathing upon delivery, court filings said. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026 But Sprenger is like Victor Frankenstein, his electronic voice and its warped utterances breathing an uneasiness into everything around it. — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026 Janelle Monáe earned the title by living and breathing the spooky holiday. — Christina Perrier, InStyle, 15 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breathing
  1. alive
  2. snoring
  3. living
  4. live
  5. respiring
Adjective
  • Until now, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has insisted the men were still alive and being held by gangs.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Rescuers searched through the concrete and steel debris throughout Sunday and pulled two more people alive from the rubble, bringing the number of survivors rescued to four.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of alive
Verb
  • Mainly looking to drown out a snoring partner, a barking dog or an overactive brain?
    — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Pick sleep earbuds, played at safe volume, if your issue is outside noise or a snoring partner.
    — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of snoring
Verb
  • But the movement has widened to include workers demanding relief from rising living costs, making the government’s task broader than resolving a dispute over university admissions.
    — Thomas Adamson, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The first vote tallies came in from Brazilians living overseas, where Lula won a decisive victory in Germany, and Bolsonaro won an overwhelming victory in Japan.
    — David Unsworth , Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of living
Adjective
  • Many of these 13 tracks have popped up as demos in Jensen’s live shows or NTS sets, cooking down to their essence in plain sight.
    — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
  • On the callback inspection two days later, on Wednesday, the inspector saw nine dead roaches and one live roach.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of live
Verb
  • When the soil becomes saturated from overwatering, the pores fill with water, limiting oxygen and preventing the roots from respiring.
    — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 12 May 2026
Definition of respiring

Browse Nearby Words

breathes (out)
breathing
breathing (out)
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Cite this Entry

“Breathing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breathing. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on breathing

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about breathing

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