From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Suffocate \Suf"fo*cate\, verb (used without an object) To become choked, stifled, or smothered. ''A swelling discontent is apt to suffocate and strangle without passage.'' --collier.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Suffocate \Suf"fo*cate\, adjective [L. suffocatus, p. p. of suffocare to choke; sub under + fauces the throat. Cf. {Faucal}.] Suffocated; choked. --Shak.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Suffocate \Suf"fo*cate\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Suffocated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Suffocating}.]
1. To choke or kill by stopping respiration; to stifle; to smother.
Let not hemp his windpipe suffocate. --Shak.
2. To destroy; to extinguish; as, to suffocate fire.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
verb
1: 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" [syn: {smother}, {asphyxiate}]
2: impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of; "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children" [syn: {stifle}, {asphyxiate}, {choke}]
3: become stultified, suppressed, or stifled; "He is suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the small village" [syn: {choke}]
4: suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of; "His job suffocated him" [syn: {choke}]
5: be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen; "The child suffocated under the pillow" [syn: {stifle}, {asphyxiate}]
6: feel uncomfortable for lack of fresh air; "The room was hot and stuffy and we were suffocating"
7: struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged" [syn: {gag}, {choke}, {strangle}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
119 Moby Thesaurus words for "suffocate": OD, asphyxiate, bake, bar, barricade, be in heat, be killed, blaze, block, block up, blockade, bloom, boil, bolt, bottle up, broil, burke, burn, censor, chock, choke, choke off, clamp down on, close, close off, close tight, close up, combust, constrict, cook, cork, cork up, crack down on, crowd, crush, damp down, debar, dog, drown, extinguish, famish, flame, flame up, flare, flare up, flicker, flush, fry, gag, garrote, gasp, glow, hold down, incandesce, jam, jump on, keep down, keep under, kill, lock, muzzle, obstruct, occlude, pack, pant, parch, pour water on, put down, put out, quash, quell, quench, radiate heat, repress, roast, scald, scorch, seethe, shimmer with heat, shut down on, shut off, shut out, shut tight, silence, simmer, sit down on, sit on, smash, smolder, smother, smothering, smudgy, snuff out, spark, squash, squeeze, squeeze shut, squelch, stamp out, stanch, starve, steam, stew, stifle, stop the breath, stop up, strangle, strangulate, stultify, subdue, suffocating, suppress, sweat, swelter, throttle, toast, trample out, trample underfoot, voice
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