as in gasped
to breathe hard, quickly, or with difficulty
he was so nervous he began hyperventilating, and the extra oxygen made him dizzy
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Recent Examples of hyperventilated
Advertisement Not every variety-show booking delighted every viewer (just ask the stiffs who hyperventilated when Elvis wiggled his hips on Sullivan’s stage), but there was enough, most nights, to captivate tens of millions of them.
—
Judy Berman,
Time,
22 May 2026
Judy Berman,
Time,
22 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hyperventilated
Verb
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By the time many of these rising talents were accruing debt in graduate writing programs, the dream of a sustainable career in the nonprofit theater had already gasped its last breath.
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The crowd of 39,077 at Citi Field gasped and even applauded some when the replay was shown on the large videoboard in center.
Verb
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Pet owners spoke reassuringly to their dogs, who panted and pawed their owners, and to their mewing cats.
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On one of the machines a Cluely employee panted and huffed in the dark.
Cite this Entry
“Hyperventilated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hyperventilated. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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