gag, choke, strangle, suffocate
(verb) struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; “he swallowed a fishbone and gagged”
suffocate
(verb) feel uncomfortable for lack of fresh air; “The room was hot and stuffy and we were suffocating”
suffocate, stifle, asphyxiate
(verb) be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen; “The child suffocated under the pillow”
suffocate, choke
(verb) suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of; “His job suffocated him”
suffocate, choke
(verb) become stultified, suppressed, or stifled; “He is suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the small village”
suffocate, stifle, asphyxiate, choke
(verb) impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of; “The foul air was slowly suffocating the children”
smother, asphyxiate, suffocate
(verb) deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing; “Othello smothered Desdemona with a pillow”; “The child suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents had left on the floor”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
suffocate (third-person singular simple present suffocates, present participle suffocating, simple past and past participle suffocated)
(ergative) To suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body.
(ergative) To die due to, or kill someone by means of, insufficient oxygen supply to the body.
(ergative, figuratively) To overwhelm, or be overwhelmed (by a person or issue), as though with oxygen deprivation.
(transitive) To destroy; to extinguish.
• (To suffer from reduced oxygen): asphyxiate, choke
• (To die from insufficient oxygen): stifle, choke
• (To be overwhelmed): drown
• (To reduce oxygen supply): asphyxiate, choke, smother
• (To kill by deprivation of oxygen): asphyxiate, choke, stifle
• (To make weary with contact): smother
suffocate (comparative more suffocate, superlative most suffocate)
(obsolete) Suffocated; choked.
• offuscate
Source: Wiktionary
Suf"fo*cate, a. Etym: [L. suffocatus, p.p. of suffocare to choke; sub under + fauces the throat. Cf. Faucal.]
Definition: Suffocated; choked. Shak.
Suf"fo*cate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Suffocated; p. pr. & vb. n. Suffocating.]
1. To choke or kill by stopping respiration; to stifle; to smother. Let not hemp his windpipe suffocate. Shak.
2. To destroy; to extinguish; as, to suffocate fire.
Suf"fo*cate, v. i.
Definition: To become choked, stifled, or smothered. "A swelling discontent is apt to suffocate and strangle without passage." collier.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
2 April 2025
(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
