asphyxiate

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /æsˈfɪksiˌeɪt/ UK /əsˈfɪksiˌeɪt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to kill or be killed by depriving of oxygen; to suffocate

Fumes from the faulty heater nearly asphyxiated the sleeping family.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to kill or be killed by... suffocate choke smother strangle stifle

Opposites

resuscitate revive

Word family

Derived forms asphyxiationasphyxiator

Related forms asphyxiaasphyxiant

Etymology

From asphyxia (the state of suffocation) + -ate, from Ancient Greek asphyxía ('stopping of the pulse'), from a- ('without') + sphýxis ('pulse, heartbeat'), from sphýzō ('I throb').

asphyxía Ancient Greek sphýzō Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# asphyxiate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /æsˈfɪksiˌeɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /əsˈfɪksiˌeɪt/

## Meanings
1. to kill or be killed by depriving of oxygen; to suffocate

## Examples
- Fumes from the faulty heater nearly asphyxiated the sleeping family.

## Synonyms
- suffocate
- choke
- smother
- strangle
- stifle

## Antonyms
- resuscitate
- revive

## Derived Forms
- asphyxiation
- asphyxiator

## Related Forms
- asphyxia
- asphyxiant

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: asphyxía
- Root: sphýzō

## Etymology
From asphyxia (the state of suffocation) + -ate, from Ancient Greek asphyxía ('stopping of the pulse'), from a- ('without') + sphýxis ('pulse, heartbeat'), from sphýzō ('I throb').

## AI Etymology
asphyxiate comes from asphyxia (the state of suffocation) + -ate, from Ancient Greek asphyxía ('stopping of the pulse'), from a- ('without') + sphýxis ('pulse, heartbeat'), from sphýzō ('I throb'). Morphologically, the word is transparent: -ate is attached to the older base named in the history, so the modern form packages an inherited or borrowed stem inside a later English derivative. In modern use, the verb sense is "to kill or be killed by depriving of oxygen; to suffocate", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as asphyxia, asphyxiant and derivatives such as asphyxiation, asphyxiator, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Ancient Greek asphyxía, Ancient Greek sphýzō, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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