SUFFOCATE

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does suffocate mean? 

• SUFFOCATE (verb)
  The verb SUFFOCATE has 7 senses:

1. deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing
2. impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of
3. become stultified, suppressed, or stifled
4. suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of
5. be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen
6. feel uncomfortable for lack of fresh air
7. struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake

  Familiarity information: SUFFOCATE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SUFFOCATE (verb)

Meaning:

Deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

asphyxiate; suffocate; smother

Context examples:

Othello smothered Desdemona with a pillow / The child suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents had left on the floor

Hypernyms (to "suffocate" is one way to...):

kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)

"Suffocate" entails doing...:

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want to suffocate the prisoners

Meaning:

Impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

asphyxiate; suffocate; stifle; choke

Context example:

The foul air was slowly suffocating the children

Hypernyms (to "suffocate" is one way to...):

block; close up; impede; jam; obstruct; obturate; occlude (block passage through)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Meaning:

Become stultified, suppressed, or stifled

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

suffocate; choke

Context example:

He is suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the small village

Hypernyms (to "suffocate" is one way to...):

become; turn (undergo a change or development)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Meaning:

Suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

suffocate; choke

Context example:

His job suffocated him

Hypernyms (to "suffocate" is one way to...):

dampen; stifle (smother or suppress)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Meaning:

Be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

asphyxiate; stifle; suffocate

Context example:

The child suffocated under the pillow

Hypernyms (to "suffocate" is one way to...):

buy the farm; cash in one's chips; choke; conk; croak; decease; die; drop dead; exit; expire; give-up the ghost; go; kick the bucket; pass; pass away; perish; pop off; snuff it (pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "suffocate"):

strangle (die from strangulation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Meaning:

Feel uncomfortable for lack of fresh air

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

The room was hot and stuffy and we were suffocating

Hypernyms (to "suffocate" is one way to...):

feel (seem with respect to a given sensation given)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

choke; gag; strangle; suffocate

Context example:

he swallowed a fishbone and gagged

Hypernyms (to "suffocate" is one way to...):

hurt; suffer (feel pain or be in pain)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s on something
Somebody ----s PP