SUFFOCATE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for SUFFOCATE?

Need another word that means the same as “suffocate”? Find 11 synonyms and 30 related words for “suffocate” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Suffocate” are: choke, asphyxiate, stifle, smother, gag, strangle, be smothered, be stifled, be breathless, be short of air, struggle for air

Suffocate as a Verb

Definitions of "Suffocate" as a verb

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “suffocate” as a verb can have the following definitions:

• Impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of.
• Become stultified, suppressed, or stifled.
• Struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake.
• Feel or cause to feel trapped and oppressed.
• Feel uncomfortable for lack of fresh air.
• Be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen.
• Die or cause to die from lack of air or inability to breathe.
• Have or cause to have difficulty in breathing.
• Deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing.
• Suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of.

Synonyms of "Suffocate" as a verb (11 Words)

asphyxiate	Be asphyxiated die from lack of oxygen. They slowly asphyxiated.
be breathless	Happen, occur, take place.
be short of air	Happen, occur, take place.
be smothered	Be priced at.
be stifled	Have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun.
choke	Cause a person or animal to choke. She choked her anger.
gag	Put a gag on someone. I m absolutely gagging for a pint.
smother	Deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing. Smother a yawn.
stifle	Be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen. She stifled a giggle.
strangle	Prevent the progress or free movement of. She strangled a sob.
struggle for air	To exert strenuous effort against opposition.

Usage Examples of "Suffocate" as a verb

• He said he'd suffocate if he remained in this house for another hour.
• They suffocated in their sleep.
• The child suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents had left on the floor.
• He was suffocating, his head jammed up against the back of the sofa.
• You're suffocating me—I can scarcely breathe.
• The child suffocated under the pillow.
• She was suffocated by fumes from the boiler.
• His job suffocated him.

Associations of "Suffocate" (30 Words)

airway	A commercial enterprise that provides scheduled flights for passengers. He kept the man s airway clear and blood circulating.
choke	A knob which controls the choke in a carburettor. A little choke of laughter.
choking	A condition caused by blocking the airways to the lungs (as with food or swelling of the larynx. No evidence that the choking was done by the accused.
clog	Dance a clog dance. Too much fatty food makes your arteries clog up.
clutter	An untidy state. The room was in a clutter of smelly untidiness.
dead	People who are no longer living. Dead right.
death	The personification of death. I don t believe in life after death.
demise	The end or failure of an enterprise or institution. The manor and the mill were demised for twenty one year terms.
drown	Deliberately kill a person or animal by drowning. I was drowned in work.
emergency	Arising from or used in an emergency. The governor declared a state of emergency.
esophagus	The passage between the pharynx and the stomach.
execute	Carry out the legalities of. Execute a will or a deed.
expiration	Euphemistic expressions for death. The expiration of the lease.
garrote	An instrument of execution for execution by strangulation.
hanging	The practice of hanging condemned people as a form of capital punishment. Hanging gardens.
ligature	Bind or connect with a ligature. He ligatured the duodenum below the pylorus.
muffle	A receptacle in a furnace or kiln in which things can be heated without contact with combustion products. Everyone was muffled up in coats and scarves.
nasal	A nasal speech sound. A whining nasal voice.
obstruct	Commit the offence of intentionally hindering (a police officer. They had to alter the course of the stream and obstruct the natural flow of the water.
oppress	Cause to suffer. A system which oppressed working people.
perish	Be suffering from extreme cold. Must these noble hopes perish so soon.
rip	A fraud or swindle a rip off. The curtain ripped from top to bottom.
smother	Make (someone) feel trapped and oppressed by acting in an overly protective manner towards them. Smother the meat in gravy.
stifle	Prevent or constrain (an activity or idea. She stifled a giggle.
strangle	Hamper or hinder the development or activity of. They allowed bureaucracy to strangle initiative.
suffocation	A feeling of being trapped and oppressed. Prisoners told accounts of suffocations and shootings.
throttle	Reduce the power of an engine or vehicle by use of the throttle. The engines were at full throttle.
valve	Each of the halves of the hinged shell of a bivalve mollusc or brachiopod or of the parts of the compound shell of a barnacle. A valve shuts off the flow from the boiler when the water is hot enough.
welter	Roll around. There s such a welter of conflicting rules.