Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense suffocates, present participle suffocating, past tense, past participle suffocated
1. verb
If someone suffocates or is suffocated, they die because there is no air for them to breathe.
He either suffocated, or froze to death. [VERB]
They were suffocated as they slept. [beVERB-ed]
Synonyms: choke, stifle, smother, asphyxiate More Synonyms of suffocate
suffocation (sʌfəkeɪʃən)uncountable noun
Many of the victims died of suffocation.
2. verb
If you say that you are suffocating or that something is suffocating you, you mean that you feel very uncomfortable because there is not enough fresh air and it is difficult to breathe.
That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room. [VERB]
The airlessness of the room suffocated her. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: be short of air, boil [informal], swelter, be too hot More Synonyms of suffocate
3. verb
You say that a person or thing is suffocating, or that something is suffocating them, when the situation that they are in does not allow them to act freely or to develop.
After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating. [VERB]
The governor's proposals would actually cost millions of jobs and suffocate the economy. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: be short of air More Synonyms of suffocate
More Synonyms of suffocate
suffocate in British English
(ˈsʌfəˌkeɪt)
verb
1.
to kill or be killed by the deprivation of oxygen, as by obstruction of the air passage or inhalation of noxious gases
2.
to block the air passages or have the air passages blocked
3.
to feel or cause to feel discomfort from heat and lack of air
Derived forms
suffocating (ˈsuffoˌcating)
adjective
suffocatingly (ˈsuffoˌcatingly)
adverb
suffocation (ˌsuffoˈcation)
noun
suffocative (ˈsuffoˌcative)
adjective
Word origin
C16: from Latin suffōcāre, from sub- + faucēs throat
suffocate in American English
(ˈsʌfəˌkeɪt)
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈsuffoˌcated or ˈsuffoˌcating
1.
to kill by cutting off the supply of oxygen to the lungs, gills, etc.
2.
to hinder the free breathing of; deprive of fresh air; stifle; choke
3.
to smother, suppress, extinguish, etc. by or as by cutting off the supply of air
verb intransitive
4.
to die by being suffocated
5.
to be unable to breathe freely; choke; stifle; smother
6.
to be unable to develop properly as because of a repressive or dulling environment
Derived forms
suffocatingly (ˈsuffoˌcatingly)
adverb
suffocation (ˌsuffoˈcation)
noun
suffocative (ˈsuffoˌcative)
adjective
Word origin
< L suffocatus, pp. of suffocare, to choke < sub-, sub- + fauces, gullet, throat: see fauces
Synonyms of 'suffocate'
choke, stifle, smother, asphyxiate
be choked, be stifled, be smothered, be asphyxiated
be short of air, boil, swelter, be too hot
be short of air
More Synonyms of suffocate
In other languages
suffocate
British English: suffocate /ˈsʌfəˌkeɪt/ VERB
If someone suffocates, they die because there is no air for them to breathe.
He either suffocated, or froze to death.
American English: suffocate
Arabic: يَخْنُق
Brazilian Portuguese: sufocar
Chinese: 窒息
Croatian: gušiti
Czech: udusit se
Danish: kvæle
Dutch: verstikken
European Spanish: asfixiar ahogar
Finnish: tukehtua
French: suffoquer
German: ersticken
Greek: ασφυκτιώ
Italian: soffocare
Japanese: 窒息する
Korean: 질식하다
Norwegian: kvele
Polish: zadławić się
European Portuguese: sufocar
Romanian: a se sufoca
Russian: задыхаться
Latin American Spanish: asfixiar causar asfixia
Swedish: kvävas
Thai: หายใจไม่ออก
Turkish: boğmak
Ukrainian: задихатися
Vietnamese: làm ngạt
Chinese translation of 'suffocate'
suffocate
(ˈsʌfəkeɪt)
vi
(= die) 闷(悶)死 (mēnsǐ)
(= have difficulty breathing) 呼吸困难(難) (hūxī kùnnan)
vt
使窒息 (shǐ zhìxī)
1 (verb)
Definition
to kill or die through lack of oxygen, such as by blockage of the air passage
They were suffocated as they slept.
Synonyms
choke
Dense smoke swirled and billowed, its fumes choking her.
stifle
smother
They worried he'd be smothered by his pillow.
asphyxiate
Three people were asphyxiated in the crush.
2 (verb)
Definition
to kill or die through lack of oxygen, such as by blockage of the air passage
He either suffocated, or froze to death.
Synonyms
be choked
be stifled
be smothered
be asphyxiated
3 (verb)
Definition
to feel uncomfortable from heat and lack of air
That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.
Synonyms
be short of air
boil (informal)
swelter
be too hot
struggle for air
4 (verb)
After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.
Synonyms
be short of air
Additional synonyms
in the sense of asphyxiate
Definition
to smother or suffocate
Three people were asphyxiated in the crush.
Synonyms
suffocate,
choke,
strangle,
stifle,
smother,
throttle,
strangulate
in the sense of smother
Definition
to suffocate
They worried he'd be smothered by his pillow.
Synonyms
suffocate,
choke,
strangle,
stifle
in the sense of stifle
Definition
to kill (someone) by preventing him or her from breathing