SUFFOCATE

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


Etymology

Verb

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.

Synonyms

• (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

Adjective

suffocate (comparative more suffocate, superlative most suffocate)

(obsolete) Suffocated; choked.

Anagrams

• 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



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Word of the Day

9 November 2024

ARCTIID

(noun) stout-bodied broad-winged moth with conspicuously striped or spotted wings; larvae are hairy caterpillars


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the most massive cup of coffee contained 22,739.14 liters and was created by Alcaldía Municipal de Chinchiná (Colombia) at Parque de Bolívar, Chinchiná, Caldas, Colombia, on 15 June 2019. Fifty people worked for more than a month to build this giant cup. The drink prepared was Arabic coffee.

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