Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of suffocate

5 similar words

Another word for suffocate is choke. Other synonyms of suffocate are smother and asphyxiate.

Synonyms and similar words for suffocate

verbTo suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body.

  • asphyxiateTo smother or suffocate someone.
  • chokeTo prevent (someone) from breathing or talking by strangling or filling the windpipe.

verbTo die due to, or kill someone by means of, insufficient oxygen supply to the body.

  • stifleTo make (an animal or person) unconscious or cause (an animal or person) to die by preventing breathing; to smother, to...
  • smotherTo suffocate; stifle; obstruct, more or less completely, the respiration of something or someone.

verbTo overwhelm, or be overwhelmed (by a person or issue), as though with oxygen deprivation.

Meaning of suffocate

  1. verb To suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body.
  2. verb To die due to, or kill someone by means of, insufficient oxygen supply to the body.
  3. verb To overwhelm, or be overwhelmed (by a person or issue), as though with oxygen deprivation.

Full definition of suffocate

suffocate in other languages

Questions about synonyms of suffocate

What is another word for suffocate?
Suffocate has 5 synonyms on Word.ws, such as choke, smother and asphyxiate.
What does suffocate mean?
Suffocate means to suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: suffocate (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of suffocate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/suffocate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.