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Vinony

suffocate

verb

  1. (cause to) not be able to breathe
L333186 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈsʌfəkət/ / /ˈsʌfəkeɪt/

adj

Etymology: The adjective is first attested in the 1420s, the verb in 1526; from Middle English suffocat(e) (“deprived of air, suffocated”), borrowed from Latin suffōcātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin suffōcō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from sub- (“under, up to”) + fōx (“throat”, oblique stem in fōc-). Participial usage up until Early Modern English.

  1. Suffocated, choked.
  2. Smothered, overwhelmed.

    “This chaos, when degree is suffocate, follows the choking”

verb

Etymology: The adjective is first attested in the 1420s, the verb in 1526; from Middle English suffocat(e) (“deprived of air, suffocated”), borrowed from Latin suffōcātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin suffōcō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from sub- (“under, up to”) + fōx (“throat”, oblique stem in fōc-). Participial usage up until Early Modern English.

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

    “Open the hatch, he is suffocating in the airlock!”

    “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. 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.”

    “Let not hemp his windpipe suffocate.”

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

    “I'm suffocating under this huge workload.”

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

  4. To destroy; to extinguish.

    “to suffocate fire”