Suffocate vs Strangle - What's the difference?
suffocate | strangle |
(ergative) To suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body.
(ergative) To die due to, or kill someone by means of, insufficient oxygen supply to the body.
* Shakespeare
(ergative, figuratively) To overwhelm, or be overwhelmed (by a person or issue), as though with oxygen deprivation.
To destroy; to extinguish.
To kill someone by squeezing the throat so as to cut off the oxygen supply; to choke, suffocate or throttle.
To stifle or suppress an action.
To be killed by strangulation, or become strangled.
To be stifled, choked, or suffocated in any manner.
* Shakespeare
In transitive terms the difference between suffocate and strangle
is that suffocate is to destroy; to extinguish while strangle is to stifle or suppress an action.As verbs the difference between suffocate and strangle
is that suffocate is to suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body while strangle is to kill someone by squeezing the throat so as to cut off the oxygen supply; to choke, suffocate or throttle.As an adjective suffocate
is suffocated; choked.suffocate
English
Verb
(suffocat)- Open the hatch, he is suffocating in the airlock!
- He suffocated his wife by holding a pillow over her head.
- Let not hemp his windpipe suffocate .
- I'm suffocating under this huge workload.
- to suffocate fire
Synonyms
* (To suffer from reduced oxygen) asphyxiate * (To die from insufficient oxygen) stifle * (To be overwhelmed) drown * (To reduce oxygen supply) asphyxiate, smother * (To kill by deprivation of oxygen) asphyxiate, stifle * (To make weary with contact) smotherDerived terms
* suffocationExternal links
* * * English ergative verbs ----strangle
English
Verb
(strangl)- He strangled his wife and dissolved the body in acid.
- She strangled a scream.
- The cat slipped from the branch and strangled on its bell-collar.
- Shall I not then be stifled in the vault, And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes?