MEANING
To be deprived of enough air or oxygen to breathe, or to cause that deprivation, potentially resulting in death.
Use it for
A person deprived of breathable air; containment becoming lethal; inability to escape respiratory dangerSpecify the missing air or restriction so the mechanism stays plausible.
Words that belong together
- suffocate in an enclosed space
- suffocate a victim
- suffocating pressure
On the page
They began to suffocate as the oxygen fell.
The attacker tried to suffocate her beneath the heavy covering.
The hatch opened before the trapped workers suffocated.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- suffocate / suffocates
- Past tense
- suffocated
- Past participle
- suffocated
- Present participle
- suffocating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- suffocate / suffocates
- Present continuous
- am/is/are suffocating
- Present perfect
- have/has suffocated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been suffocating
- Past
- suffocated
- Past continuous
- was/were suffocating
- Past perfect
- had suffocated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been suffocating
- Future
- will suffocate / suffocates
- Future continuous
- will be suffocating
- Future perfect
- will have suffocated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been suffocating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Broader than choking on a blockage; dangerous air or restricted breathing can also suffocate. The verb may describe the process before death occurs. Verb [base, third-person present, past, past participle, -ing]: suffocate, suffocates, suffocated, suffocated, suffocating. Derived/related family (not inflections): suffocation (noun).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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