Verb

• S: (v) 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"
• S: (v) suffocate, stifle, asphyxiate, choke (impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of) "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children"
• S: (v) suffocate, choke (become stultified, suppressed, or stifled) "He is suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the small village"
• S: (v) suffocate, choke (suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of) "His job suffocated him"
• verb group
• direct hypernym / inherited hypernym / sister term
• sentence frame
• S: (v) suffocate, stifle, asphyxiate (be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen) "The child suffocated under the pillow"
• S: (v) suffocate (feel uncomfortable for lack of fresh air) "The room was hot and stuffy and we were suffocating"
• S: (v) gag, choke, strangle, suffocate (struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake) "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged"