What is the meaning of suffocate?

verb

• Deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing.
  • usage: "Othello smothered Desdemona with a pillow"; "The child suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents had left on the floor"
  • synonyms: smother, asphyxiate
• Impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of.
  • usage: "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children"
  • synonyms: stifle, asphyxiate, choke
• Become stultified, suppressed, or stifled.
  • usage: "He is suffocating-living at home with his aged parents in the small village"
  • synonyms: choke
• Suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of.
  • usage: "His job suffocated him"
  • synonyms: choke
• Be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen.
  • usage: "The child suffocated under the pillow"
  • synonyms: stifle, asphyxiate
• Feel uncomfortable for lack of fresh air.
  • usage: "The room was hot and stuffy and we were suffocating"
• Struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake.
  • usage: "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged"
  • synonyms: gag, choke, strangle