BREATHLESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does breathless mean? 

• BREATHLESS (adjective)
  The adjective BREATHLESS has 3 senses:

1. not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty

2. tending to cause suspension of regular breathing

3. appearing dead; not breathing or having no perceptible pulse

  Familiarity information: BREATHLESS used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BREATHLESS (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty

Synonyms:

breathless; dyspneal; dyspneic; dyspnoeal; dyspnoeic

Context example:

followed the match with breathless interest

Similar:

asphyxiating (tending to deprive of oxygen)

smothering; suffocating; suffocative (causing difficulty in breathing especially through lack of fresh air and presence of heat)

blown; pursy; short-winded; winded (breathing laboriously or convulsively)

Also:

unventilated (not ventilated)

Antonym:

breathing (passing or able to pass air in and out of the lungs normally; sometimes used in combination)

Derivation:

breathlessness (a dyspneic condition)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Tending to cause suspension of regular breathing

Synonyms:

breathless; breathtaking

Context example:

breathtaking adventure

Similar:

exciting (creating or arousing excitement)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Appearing dead; not breathing or having no perceptible pulse

Synonyms:

breathless; inanimate; pulseless

Context example:

pulseless and dead

Similar:

dead (no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life)

Derivation:

breathlessness (a dyspneic condition)

 Context examples 

This new moon is so inspirational that the events you experience afterward might make you feel surprised, happy, and breathless.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

We lashed his ankles with cord, and rose breathless from the struggle.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Early this morning we listened, with breathless anxiety, for her response in her trance.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He had lifted his eyes to me at the commencement of my outburst, and followed me complacently until I had done and stood before him breathless and dismayed.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Airway Questionnaire 20 (AQ20) Does your chest problem make you breathless when you do things at work?

(AQ20 - Chest Problem Make You Breathless at Work, NCI Thesaurus)

Airway Questionnaire 20 (AQ20) Do you feel breathless when trying to sleep?

(AQ20 - Feel Breathless When Trying to Sleep, NCI Thesaurus)

Breathless they stood and silent, but no sound came up to them, save the roar of the flames and the clamor of their enemies.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was a breathless hush as Harrison, Wilson, Belcher, and Dutch Sam walked very briskly into the centre of the ring.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Heart disease can make you feel breathless if your heart cannot pump enough blood to supply oxygen to your body.

(Breathing Problems, NIH)