agonal.

Relating to the period or struggle immediately surrounding death.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• agonal breathing
• agonal gasps

On the page

Agonal gasps interrupted the silence beside the damaged bunk.

The record distinguished agonal breathing from the steady breaths heard earlier.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror. Forms: Relational or absolute adjective; ordinary comparative and superlative usually not applicable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.