suffocate

== English == === 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. === Pronunciation 1 === IPA(key): /ˈsʌfəkeɪt/ ==== Verb ==== suffocate (third-person singular simple present suffocates, present participle suffocating, simple past and past participle suffocated) (ergative) To suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body. (ergative) To die due to, or kill someone by means of, insufficient oxygen supply to the body. (ergative, figuratively) To overwhelm, or be overwhelmed (by a person or issue), as though with oxygen deprivation. (transitive) To destroy; to extinguish. ===== Synonyms ===== (To suffer from reduced oxygen): asphyxiate, choke (To die from insufficient oxygen): stifle, choke (To be overwhelmed): drown (To reduce oxygen supply): asphyxiate, choke, smother (To kill by deprivation of oxygen): asphyxiate, choke, stifle (To make weary with contact): smother ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== asphyxia ===== Translations ===== === Pronunciation 2 === IPA(key): /ˈsʌfəkət/ ==== Adjective ==== suffocate (comparative more suffocate, superlative most suffocate) (obsolete, as a participle) Suffocated, choked. (obsolete) Smothered, overwhelmed. === Further reading === “suffocate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “suffocate”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “suffocate”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. === Anagrams === offuscate == Latin == === Verb === suffōcāte second-person plural present active imperative of suffōcō