MEANING
To choke or retch reflexively, or to prevent speech by covering or putting something in the mouth.
Use it for
A throat recoiling from foul matter; speech deliberately suppressed; a bodily reaction before vomitingKeep disgust-induced gagging distinct from forcible silencing.
Words that belong together
- gag at the smell
- gag a prisoner
- gag reflex
On the page
She gagged when the taste reached the back of her tongue.
The captors had gagged him before moving the body.
He tried to speak around the cloth and gagged.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- gag / gags
- Past tense
- gagged
- Past participle
- gagged
- Present participle
- gagging
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- gag / gags
- Present continuous
- am/is/are gagging
- Present perfect
- have/has gagged
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been gagging
- Past
- gagged
- Past continuous
- was/were gagging
- Past perfect
- had gagged
- Past perfect continuous
- had been gagging
- Future
- will gag / gags
- Future continuous
- will be gagging
- Future perfect
- will have gagged
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been gagging
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: horror. The retching and restraint senses differ; specify the construction. Gagging does not necessarily involve vomiting or complete loss of breath. Verb [base, third-person present, past, past participle, -ing]: gag, gags, gagged, gagged, gagging.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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