suffocating

adjective
UK: /ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ/
US: /ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ/

  1. Making it difficult to breathe; causing a feeling of being unable to breathe properly.

    1. The air was thick and suffocating.
    2. The room felt suffocating, with no open windows to provide fresh air, making everyone uncomfortable.

  2. Extremely unpleasant or oppressive because of heat and humidity.

    1. It's a suffocating summer day.
    2. The suffocating humidity made it difficult to even walk outside for a few minutes, and everyone was complaining.

  3. Overwhelming or restricting freedom of expression or action.

    1. The rules feel suffocating.
    2. The suffocating atmosphere of the office made it difficult to be creative and productive during the workday.

Synonyms

oppressive
suffocating verb

  1. Present participle of the verb 'suffocate'; causing someone to die from lack of air.

    1. The smoke was suffocating them.
    2. The heavy blanket was suffocating the baby, but luckily, the mother noticed in time to save her.

  2. Making someone feel trapped or restricted.

    1. He's suffocating her with attention.
    2. The company’s micromanagement was suffocating employees, leading to low morale and high turnover.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "suffocating" in English means: Making it difficult to breathe; causing a feeling of being unable to breathe properly., Extremely unpleasant or oppressive because of heat and humidity., Overwhelming or restricting freedom of expression or action..

The phonetic transcription of "suffocating" is /ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ/ in British English and /ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "suffocating": oppressive.

Example usage of "suffocating": "The air was thick and suffocating.". More examples on the page.