Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb suffocate

7 senses of suffocate

Sense 1
smother, asphyxiate, suffocate -- (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")
       => kill -- (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig for the holidays")

Sense 2
suffocate, stifle, asphyxiate, choke -- (impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of; "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children")
       => obstruct, obturate, impede, occlude, jam, block, close up -- (block passage through; "obstruct the path")

Sense 3
suffocate, choke -- (become stultified, suppressed, or stifled; "He is suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the small village")
       => become, turn -- (undergo a change or development; "The water turned into ice"; "Her former friend became her worst enemy"; "He turned traitor")

Sense 4
suffocate, choke -- (suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of; "His job suffocated him")
       => stifle, dampen -- (smother or suppress; "Stifle your curiosity")

Sense 5
suffocate, stifle, asphyxiate -- (be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen; "The child suffocated under the pillow")
       => die, decease, perish, go, exit, pass away, expire, pass, kick the bucket, cash in one's chips, buy the farm, conk, give-up the ghost, drop dead, pop off, choke, croak, snuff it -- (pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life; "She died from cancer"; "The children perished in the fire"; "The patient went peacefully"; "The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of 102")

Sense 6
suffocate -- (feel uncomfortable for lack of fresh air; "The room was hot and stuffy and we were suffocating")
       => feel -- (be conscious of a physical, mental, or emotional state; "My cold is gone--I feel fine today"; "She felt tired after the long hike"; "She felt sad after her loss")

Sense 7
gag, choke, strangle, suffocate -- (struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged")
       => suffer, hurt -- (feel pain or be in pain)