suffocation
suffocation — 名詞
1. death that happens when a person or animal cannot get enough oxygen to breathe,
窒息
因缺氧而死亡
death that happens when a person or animal cannot get enough oxygen to breathe, either because the air supply is cut off or because the surrounding air has no oxygen in it.
The medical report listed suffocation as Tomás's cause of death after the house fire.
驗屍報告指出，Tomás 的死因是火災後的窒息。
die of suffocation (cause of death collocation)
Parents of young children worry about suffocation from plastic bags or loose bedding.
幼兒的家長很擔心塑膠袋或鬆散床鋪用品造成的窒息風險。
The firefighters reported that the victims had died of suffocation from smoke inhalation.
消防隊員回報，死者因吸入濃煙而窒息死亡。
Toy manufacturers must put suffocation warnings on products with small parts.
玩具製造商必須在含有小零件的產品上標示窒息警示。
Adina's pet hamster died of suffocation when it became trapped inside a drawer.
Adina 的寵物倉鼠卡在抽屜裡後窒息死亡。
- asphyxiation
the medical or formal term for death from lack of oxygen
- choking
focuses on the airway being blocked from inside, not outside
- breathing
the normal act of taking in oxygen
常見錯誤
❖ 'He died of suffocation by the smoke.' ✅ 'He died of suffocation from the smoke.' — 'from' is the standard preposition used with the cause, not 'by.'
❖ 'The suffocation killed three people.' ✅ 'Suffocation killed three people / Three people died of suffocation.' — 'suffocation' is uncountable and usually does not take 'the' when referring to the general cause.
suffocation — 動詞
- suffocationpresent simple I / you / we / they
- suffocations3rd person singular
- suffocationing-ing form
- suffocationedpast simple
1. to kill someone by preventing them from breathing, usually by covering their nos
使窒息；悶死
故意阻止呼吸致人死亡
to kill someone by preventing them from breathing, usually by covering their nose and mouth or pressing on their throat.
The attacker tried to suffocate the night guard with a pillow during the robbery.
搶匪企圖用枕頭悶死夜班警衛。
attempted suffocation: try to suffocate [person] with [object]
In the crime novel, the killer suffocates victims by holding a cloth over their faces.
在這本犯罪小說中，兇手用布壓住受害者的臉使其窒息。
The husband suffocated his wife in a jealous rage, the court heard.
法庭聽聞該丈夫因嫉妒暴怒而悶死了妻子。
Police charged Kwame with attempted murder after he tried to suffocate his cellmate.
警方指控 Kwame 試圖悶死獄友，罪名是謀殺未遂。
- asphyxiate
more formal or medical; can also mean depriving of oxygen without physical force
- smother
specifically means covering the face to stop breathing
文法句型
suffocate + object
be suffocated by + agent
用法筆記
The subject is usually a person who deliberately blocks someone's breathing. Frequently appears in crime and legal contexts. Commonly used in the passive voice (be suffocated by).
常見錯誤
❖ 'He suffocated her with a smoke.' ✅ 'He suffocated her with a pillow.' — 'suffocate' in this sense means physically blocking the airway, not poisoning or using smoke.
2. to prevent a living thing from getting enough oxygen, causing injury or death, o
使缺氧
切斷氧氣供應造成傷害
to prevent a living thing from getting enough oxygen, causing injury or death, often without deliberate human action.
The thick plastic wrapping suffocated the plants by stopping air from reaching their roots.
厚重的塑膠包裝阻隔了空氣接觸根部，導致植物窒息。
accidental suffocation: [material] suffocates [living thing]
Firefighters worried that the heavy smoke would suffocate anyone trapped inside the burning building.
消防隊員擔心濃煙會讓困在燃燒大樓裡的人窒息。
Oil on the water suffocated all the fish in the pond near the factory.
工廠附近水面上一層厚厚的油污讓池塘裡所有的魚窒息死亡。
The pillow suffocated baby Rin by covering her nose and mouth, the doctor said.
醫生解釋說，枕頭蓋住了嬰兒 Rin 的口鼻導致她窒息。
- asphyxiate
more formal; often used in medical or environmental contexts
- oxygenate
to supply with oxygen
文法句型
suffocate + object
用法筆記
The subject can be any material, substance, or condition that blocks oxygen. Unlike sense 1, this does not require a deliberate killer — smoke, oil, or a loose blanket can suffocate accidentally.
3. to make someone feel very uncomfortable because the air in a room, vehicle, or o
使氣悶
不通風的空間讓人難受
to make someone feel very uncomfortable because the air in a room, vehicle, or other space is too hot and does not move.
The crowded bus suffocated the passengers during the summer heat wave in Taipei.
在臺北的夏季熱浪中，擁擠的公車讓乘客悶得喘不過氣。
[confined space] suffocates [person]
Chiara felt the small windowless office would suffocate her if she stayed much longer.
Chiara 覺得那間沒有窗戶的小辦公室如果再多待一會兒會讓她悶死。
The thick curtains and closed windows suffocated everyone in the living room that afternoon.
厚重的窗簾和緊閉的窗戶讓客廳裡的人那天下午都悶得受不了。
Bao found that the stuffy train carriage suffocated him during the five-hour journey.
Bao 發現那節悶熱的火車車廂在五小時的旅途中讓他快悶壞了。
文法句型
[stuffy space] suffocates + object
用法筆記
The subject is typically a space (a room, bus, train) with poor ventilation. This sense does not imply death — only extreme discomfort from heat and lack of fresh air.
常見錯誤
❖ 'The hot weather suffocated me.' ✅ 'The small room suffocated me.' — the subject should be a confined space with bad air, not the weather itself.
4. to prevent something from developing, growing, or expressing itself freely — for
壓抑；扼殺
阻止發展或自由表達
to prevent something from developing, growing, or expressing itself freely — for example, stifling creativity, freedom, or a business.
The strict school rules suffocated the students' creativity during art class.
嚴格的校規扼殺了學生在美術課上的創造力。
figurative: [restriction] suffocates [abstract quality]
Ilan felt that his parents' constant worrying was suffocating his independence at age twenty.
Ilan 覺得父母無止境的擔憂壓抑了他二十歲時應有的獨立。
The government's new media laws suffocated any public debate about the election campaign.
政府的新媒體法壓制了任何關於選舉活動的公開討論。
Living in a small town with few job opportunities began to suffocate Soraya's ambition.
住在機會稀少的小鎮開始壓抑 Soraya 的抱負。
文法句型
suffocate + abstract noun
用法筆記
Figurative sense: the subject is typically an external force such as rules, control, expectations, or a limiting environment. The object is usually an abstract noun like creativity, freedom, debate, ambition, or independence.
常見錯誤
❖ 'The heat suffocated my work.' ✅ 'The strict rules suffocated my creativity.' — this figurative sense needs an abstract quality (creativity, freedom) as the object, not a concrete product or activity.
5. to die because you cannot breathe, for example because you are in a place with n
窒息而死
因缺氧而死亡
to die because you cannot breathe, for example because you are in a place with no air or the air is poisonous.
Three workers suffocated when toxic gas filled the underground tunnel near the mine.
三名工人在地下隧道吸入毒氣後窒息死亡。
intransitive: [person] suffocates in [place/cause]
The kitten suffocated after climbing into a tightly sealed storage box in the garage.
小貓爬進車庫裡一個密封的儲物箱後窒息而死。
Many fish suffocated when the pond froze over and blocked oxygen from entering the water.
池塘結冰阻隔氧氣進入水中，許多魚因此窒息而死。
Omar's grandfather almost suffocated during a severe asthma attack last winter.
Omar 的祖父去年冬天嚴重氣喘發作，差點窒息。
- asphyxiate
more technical; used especially in medical reports
- breathe
the normal act of taking in air
文法句型
[living thing] suffocates
用法筆記
Intransitive — the subject is the living thing that dies. Distinguished from sense 1 by the absence of an external agent causing the death; here, the cause is an environmental condition or medical event.
常見錯誤
❖ 'The man suffocated by the smoke.' ✅ 'The man suffocated from the smoke.' — in the intransitive sense, the cause is introduced with 'from' or 'in,' never 'by' (which is used in passive transitive constructions).
6. to feel very uncomfortable because the air around you is too hot, still, and has
感到氣悶
因不通風而感到不適
to feel very uncomfortable because the air around you is too hot, still, and has no movement.
Justin suffocated in the stuffy attic while searching for his grandmother's old photo albums.
Justin 在悶熱的閣樓裡找祖母的老相簿時悶得喘不過氣。
intransitive: [person] suffocates in [space]
The wedding guests began to suffocate in the crowded hall without any air conditioning.
婚禮賓客在沒有空調的擁擠大廳裡開始感到窒息。
Felix felt he would suffocate if he spent another minute in the tiny lift.
Felix 覺得如果在小電梯裡再多待一分鐘他會悶死。
The children started suffocating in the back of the car with the windows closed.
車窗全部搖上的情況下，後座的孩子們開始覺得悶。
- stifle
can also describe discomfort from heat and bad air
文法句型
[person] suffocates in [confined space]
用法筆記
Intransitive — describes the feeling of being in an airless space. Different from sense 3 (transitive) because here there is no object; the subject experiences the discomfort directly. Often used with 'feel' or 'start' as helping verbs.
7. to gradually lose the ability to grow, develop, or express yourself because of t
受壓抑
發展或活力受阻
to gradually lose the ability to grow, develop, or express yourself because of too many rules, controls, or pressures around you.
Tariq felt his spirit suffocate under the weight of endless rules at the office.
Tariq 覺得自己的精神被辦公室裡無窮無盡的規則壓得喘不過氣。
figurative intransitive: [spirit / soul] suffocates under [pressure]
Local businesses suffocated when the new shopping mall opened and took away all their customers.
新的購物中心開幕後搶走了所有顧客，當地店家因此難以生存。
The arts scene in the city suffocated after the government cut all its funding.
政府刪除所有補助後，該城市的藝術圈逐漸萎縮。
Vivek feared his dream of becoming a painter would suffocate at the bank.
Vivek 擔心在銀行工作會讓他想成為畫家的夢想窒息。
文法句型
[abstract entity] suffocates under [pressure]
用法筆記
Figurative intransitive sense — describes abstract entities (spirit, creativity, business, dream) losing vitality due to external constraints. The metaphor comes from the physical experience of being unable to breathe in a tight space.