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"
If someone is asphyxiated, they die or lose consciousness because they are unable to breathe properly. Three people were asphyxiated in the crush for last week's train = suffocate + asphyxiation as·phyxia·tion A post mortem examination found that she died from asphyxiation. to prevent someone from breathing normally, usually so that they die = suffocate