transitive verb suffocated -·cat′ed, suffocating -·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