asphyxiate
/æs'fiksieit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb (transitive):
- To cause someone to die or lose consciousness by depriving them of air or oxygen; to suffocate.
- To impair breathing or obstruct the air passages.
Verb (intransitive):
- To die or become unconscious from a lack of oxygen; to be suffocated.
Usage and Examples
Transitive Verb (to cause asphyxiation):
- A blocked airway can asphyxiate a person very quickly.
- The fire asphyxiated the victims with smoke before the flames reached them.
Intransitive Verb (to undergo asphyxiation):
- If the ventilation fails, the miners could asphyxiate.
- He nearly asphyxiated after inhaling the toxic gas.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- Medical/Legal Context: Often used in formal reports to describe cause of death.
- The autopsy confirmed the victim asphyxiated due to strangulation.
- Figurative Use: Can describe a feeling of being stifled or suppressed, though this is less common.
- The strict rules of the institution asphyxiated her creativity. (Note: "stifled" or "smothered" are more typical in this figurative sense.)
Variants and Related Words
- Asphyxia (n): The condition of being deprived of oxygen, which can lead to unconsciousness or death.
- The cause of death was acute asphyxia.
- Asphyxiation (n): The act or process of asphyxiating; suffocation.
- Death by asphyxiation is a common finding in such cases.
- Asphyxiant (n/adj): (A substance) capable of causing asphyxia.
- Carbon monoxide is a dangerous asphyxiant gas.
Synonyms
- Suffocate: The most direct synonym, often used interchangeably.
- Smother: To suffocate by covering the nose and mouth or by depriving of air.
- Stifle: To suffocate or make unable to breathe easily; also used figuratively.
- Choke: To have severe difficulty in breathing because of a constricted or obstructed throat or a lack of air.
- Strangle: To kill by external compression of the throat.
Antonyms
- Breathe: To draw air into and expel it from the lungs.
- Resuscitate: To revive someone from unconsciousness or apparent death.
- Ventilate: To cause air to enter and circulate freely.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
(Note: "Asphyxiate" itself is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. The action is typically expressed directly.) - To asphyxiate on something: To asphyxiate due to a specific cause. - Several people asphyxiated on the fumes from the chemical leak.
Related Idioms
(Note: There are no common idioms using the word "asphyxiate." The concept is more directly expressed.) - To be gasping for air: To be struggling to breathe. - To have the breath knocked out of you: To be temporarily unable to breathe, often from a shock or impact.
Verb
- be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen
- The child suffocated under the pillow
- impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of
- The foul air was slowly suffocating the children
- 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