😲 Very exciting 😮‍💨 Unable to breathe

breathless

16 3.3

Not able to breathe easily after physical effort or strong emotion

adjective
/ˈbrɛθləs/

: jadeante

I was soon exhausted and breathless, dizzy with exertion and smoke inhalation.
leave me breathless
breathless on exertion

And I'm a little breathless, so I'm just going to take a moment to find my way to my pages.

Examples

Breathless, scared, the whole of the world starting to fade away.

Black Phone 2 (2025)
Even after I caught up with her, breathless, she walked faster than I could keep up beside her.

Fiction book (1991)
"You have no right..." she began in a breathless voice, then stopped to swallow.

Fiction book (1992)
Now we need to hurry," he said as the breathless men gathered around him.

Fiction book (1991)
"I have come to a decision," he said, standing breathless in the doorway.

Fiction book (1990)
The school grounds were empty, and we were breathless and sweaty.

Fiction book (1992)
Emiliano cried, breathless and red-faced, his hazel eyes wide with worry. "Hurry, please!"

Academic text (2009)
"Your field glasses, sir," Hawthorne cried, near breathless as he raced up to Andrew's side.

Fiction book (1990)
After running up the hill, I was breathless, gasping for air as I reached the top.
The kids ran into the room, breathless from the excitement of the surprise party.

Synonyms

winded

vsbreathless

21 3.5

Breathing hard and having trouble after exercise

covers same state but usually caused by exercise rather than emotion

dyspneic

vsbreathless

Specialized

9.9

Having trouble breathing or feeling short of breath

is the everyday term for the same breathing difficulty

dyspneal

vsbreathless

Specialized

9.9

Having difficulty breathing and feeling short of breath

is the general nontechnical description of that breathing problem

dyspnoeal

vsbreathless

9.9

Having difficulty breathing

is the common phrase used to describe that same breathing issue

breathless with excitement

vsbreathless

4.6

You are so excited that you cannot breathe normally

can also describe inability to breathe from exertion or other causes

gaspy

vsbreathless

8.1

Breathing quickly and loudly because you have little air

may lack noisy gasping and still mean general breathing difficulty

short-winded

vsbreathless

7.1

Breathing is difficult and you get out of breath after activity

is similar but stresses quick tiring from activity over other causes

Idioms

breathless with excitement

4.6

You are so excited that you cannot breathe normally

How Breathless

suffocating

1 5.1

breathless

16 3.3

gaspy

8.1

winded

21 3.5

Surface Forms

breathless positive

Morphology

breathless = breath (transparent) = breath + less

A direct and literal composition: 'without breath' meaning unable to breathe normally, which learners can derive from the parts.

Etymology

Breathless joins breath ('the air you take into your lungs') and the ending -less ('without'), so it literally means 'without breath'. That is why we use it to describe someone who is 'out of breath' after hard exercise or who is gasping for air.