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"2. impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of;
"The foul air was slowly suffocating the children"3. become stultified, suppressed, or stifled;
"He is suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the small village"4. suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of;
"His job suffocated him"5. be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen;
"The child suffocated under the pillow"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"