suffocation
n.the act of dying or nearly dying because you cannot breathe. It can also mean being trapped in a place where there is no air.
n.the act or process of dying or being deprived of oxygen. Often refers to physical obstruction of the airway or a lack of breathable atmosphere in an enclosed space.
“The thick smoke caused a feeling of suffocation.”
“Firefighters rescued the family from the basement before the rising water caused total suffocation.”
“The dense fog rolling in from the coast created a sense of suffocation, making it difficult for the hikers to navigate the narrow mountain pass.”
Inherited from Middle English suffocation, suffocacioun, from Middle French suffocation, from Latin suffocatio.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.