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suffocate Definition

suf·fo·cate (suf′ə kāt′)

transitive verb -·cat′ed, -·cat′·ing

  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

Etymology: < L suffocatus, pp. of suffocare, to choke < sub-, sub- + fauces, gullet, throat: see fauces

intransitive verb

  1. to die by being suffocated
  2. to be unable to breathe freely; choke; stifle; smother
  3. to be unable to develop properly as because of a repressive or dulling environment

suffocate Related Forms
suf′·fo·cat′·ingly adverb suf′·fo·ca′·tion noun suf′·fo·ca′·tive adjective
suffocate Synonyms

suffocate

v.

stifle, smother, strangle; see choke 1.

suffocate Usage Examples

Object

  • blanket: Listening to the controlled whirlwinds at night we squash our lust under suffocating standard blankets.
  • heat: We pass silently through the cool dark inner hall and exit into the suffocating white heat of the street.
  • atmosphere: During the night many men died and all suffered severely from thirst, and the suffocating atmosphere, water was promised but not given.
  • life: A daily life suffocated by a rash of new rules and regulations, bills and prices.
  • smoke: Sounds and smells, like the suffocating smoke in the farmhouses without a chimney, are completely missing.
  • innovation: We have seen how the Government's rigid and centralized target culture is suffocating innovation and local discretion in the public services.

Preposition: on

  • toy: She used to have a partner, Barney, but he suffocated on a plastic toy that was thrown in by visitors.

Subject

  • gas: Isolated in such blocks the selected prisoner perished either from hunger or from an injection of phenol or were suffocated by gas.
  • fume: During the night, while at Edmund Byers, the boiler went out and were nearly suffocated by the fumes.

Modifying Another Word

  • slowly: From increased carbon emissions to polluted oceans, the earth is slowly suffocating.
  • nearly: During the night, while at Edmund Byers, the boiler went out and were nearly suffocated by the fumes.
  • almost: Almost suffocated with misery, I hesitated, looked back briefly, then carried on.
  • not: You will not Suffocate, but if you find breathing difficult, puncture a few small holes in the bag around your face.
  • then: I then suffocated them by blocking their airways with polish.
  • accidentally: The jury returned a verdict that the deceased was accidentally suffocated by drowning.

Preposition: in

  • mud: You can be hung, impaled, suffocated in mud, torched, eaten and splattered across the screen in an instant.
  • truck: From time to time horrifying stories reach the press of migrants suffocated in air-tight container trucks.

Preposition: under

  • weight: The curriculum is suffocating under the weight of the emphasis on numeracy and literacy.

Preposition: by

  • gas: Isolated in such blocks the selected prisoner perished either from hunger or from an injection of phenol or were suffocated by gas.
  • fume: During the night, while at Edmund Byers, the boiler went out and were nearly suffocated by the fumes.