suffocate

English

Etymology

From Latin suffōcāre, from sub- (“under, up to”) + fōx (“throat”)

Pronunciation

• (verb) IPA^(key): /ˈsʌfəkeɪt/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (adjective) IPA^(key): /ˈsʌfəkət/

Verb

suffocate (third-person singular simple present suffocates, present participle suffocating, simple past and past participle suffocated)

1. (ergative) To suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body.

   Open the hatch, he is suffocating in the airlock!

   • 2020 November 2, Jiu Xiao, “Chinese Communist Party Officials Push Anti-U.S. Propaganda While Sending Families to Live in the U.S.”, in Minghui‎:

     It is because of freedom, one netizen replied: Like air, you may not realize its importance, but when suffocating, you would know how precious it is.

2. (ergative) To die due to, or kill someone by means of, insufficient oxygen supply to the body.

   He suffocated his wife by holding a pillow over her head.

   • 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     Let not hemp his windpipe suffocate.

3. (ergative, figuratively) To overwhelm, or be overwhelmed (by a person or issue), as though with oxygen deprivation.

   I'm suffocating under this huge workload.

   • 1962 April, “London Airport rail link”, in Modern Railways, page 222:

     If the trend to private cars continues, the more quickly will the road traffic suffocate itself, [...].

4. (transitive) To destroy; to extinguish.

   to suffocate fire

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

Derived terms

• smothercate
• suffocation

Related terms

• asphyxia

Translations

Adjective

suffocate (comparative more suffocate, superlative most suffocate)

1. (obsolete) Suffocated; choked.
   • c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

     This chaos , when degree is suffocate , Follows the choking

Further reading

• “suffocate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “suffocate”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “suffocate”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• offuscate

Latin

Verb

suffōcāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of suffōcō