suffocate

Word family

suf·fo·cate /ˈsʌfəkeɪt/ verb

1 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]BREATHE# to die or make someone die by preventing them from breathing （使）窒息而死，（使）闷死

The animal seizes its prey by the throat and suffocates it to death.

这种动物会抓住猎物的喉咙，使其窒息而死。

One of the puppies suffocated inside the plastic bag.

其中一只小狗在塑料袋里闷死了。

2 be suffocating BREATHE#to feel uncomfortable because there is not enough fresh air 感到窒息，感到呼吸困难

Can you open a window? I’m suffocating.

你能开扇窗吗？我觉得很闷。

Examples from the Corpus

be suffocating• Can you open a window? I'm suffocating.• At the main stage the crowd of women was so dense it was suffocating.• He stepped into the tub, the hot water making him feel like he was suffocating.• July turned to August, and the heat was suffocating.• The little girl is suffocating, her throat is already blocked up.• I couldn't keep my eyes open, I felt as if I was suffocating in a warm fug of words.• Politicians and media types were suffocating in recycled hot air.• Cars were suffocating the roads like weeds.• It was suffocating to sit between those merit was like being a fox in a bog while hounds crooned on either bank.

3 [transitiveT]DO BADLY to prevent a relationship, plan, business etc from developing well or being successful 压制，扼杀，阻碍

Jealousy can suffocate any relationship.

嫉妒可以扼杀任何人际关系。

—suffocation /ˌsʌfəˈkeɪʃən/ noun [uncountableU]

Examples from the Corpus

suffocate• It was very hot inside the car, and I felt as though I was suffocating.• Although the gear had no contact with any of my breathing apparatus, I felt suffocated.• The overweight 45year-old was believed to have suffocated her 65-year-old victim during a furious row.• They pushed a plastic bag over his head and almost suffocated him.• He had to keep his arms free as he needed them to keep the snake from suffocating him.• These dinosaurs were not suffocating in a museum.• Many of the birds had suffocated in their boxes.• Above him the sky swam greyly, suffocating the moon; the edge of the roof sailed free in space.• Cars were suffocating the roads like weeds.• Their mother suffocated them with overprotective love.

Origin suffocate

(1400-1500) Latin past participle of suffocare, from sub- ( → SUB-) + fauces “throat”

suf·fo·cate verb

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus