Word
suffocate
Phoneticssuf·fo·cate, stress on the first syllable
US/ˈsəfəˌkeɪt/
UK/sˈʌfəkˌeɪt/
Definitions
01to die or kill from lack of air
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to die because you cannot breathe, or to kill someone by stopping them from breathing.
v. to die or cause death through the deprivation of oxygen. Functions ergatively, describing either the victim's experience or the attacker's action.
“The fire was so large that the smoke caused several people to suffocate.”
“The victim did not die from the impact of the fall but rather suffocated under the weight of the collapsed building materials.”
02to feel trapped or overwhelmed
C1 · Advanced Informal
v. to feel like you have no freedom or space because of a person or a difficult situation.
v. to feel overwhelmed or stifled by a restrictive environment, relationship, or set of circumstances. Often used in the passive voice or intransitively.
“She felt like she was suffocating in her small hometown and needed to move to the city.”
“He felt suffocated by his parents' constant demands and their refusal to let him make his own career choices.”
03to prevent from developing
C1 · Advanced Formal
v. to stop something from growing or succeeding by putting too much pressure on it.
v. to suppress or extinguish something, such as an idea or a movement, by depriving it of the necessary conditions to survive.
“The new taxes might suffocate small businesses before they even have a chance to grow.”
“The regime attempted to suffocate the uprising by cutting off all communication between the major cities.”
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“Larger ones would have survived the initial ashfall but slowly suffocated as the dust covered their food supply and became airborne.” “Suddenly Napoli found themselves suffocated by a blanket of red.” 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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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