suffocate

[suhf-uh-keyt]

verb (used with object)

suffocated, suffocating 

1. to kill by preventing the access of air to the blood through the lungs or analogous organs, as gills; strangle.

2. to impede the respiration of.

3. to discomfort by a lack of fresh or cool air.

4. to overcome or extinguish; suppress.

verb (used without object)

suffocated, suffocating 

1. to become suffocated; stifle; smother.

2. to be uncomfortable due to a lack of fresh or cool air.

suffocate

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• suffocation noun
• suffocating adjective
• suffocatingly adverb
• suffocative adjective
• unsuffocated adjective
• unsuffocative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of suffocate¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin suffōcātus (past participle of suffōcāre “to choke, stifle”), equivalent to suf- suf- + -fōc- (combining form of fauc-, stem of faucēs “throat”) + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of suffocate¹

C16: from Latin suffōcāre, from _sub- + faucēs throat

Example Sentences

“I email all day, every day. I’m behind a screen all day, every day. It gets suffocating,” Middleman said.

From Los Angeles Times

"I feel suffocated, exhausted, hungry, scared - and I can't even stop to rest."

From BBC

"As soon as I wake up, I go to a cafe. I tried libraries and study cafes, but they felt suffocating," she says.

From BBC

In July, Kenya's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said it believed those buried might have been "starved and suffocated as a result of adopting and promoting extreme religious ideologies".

From BBC

“They suffocated — that was a packing issue. Should have used more peanuts.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• asphyxiate 
• drown 
• smother 
• stifle 
• strangle