asphyxiated
|as-phyx-i-a-ted|
🇺🇸
/əˈsfɪk.siˌeɪ.tɪd/
🇬🇧
/əˈsfɪk.si.eɪ.tɪd/
(asphyxiate)
lack of oxygen
Etymology
'asphyxiate' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'asphyxía' (ἀσφυξία), where 'a-' meant 'without' and 'sphuxis' (σφυξις) meant 'pulse'.
'asphyxiate' passed into Late Latin as 'asphyxia', then via French (as 'asphyxier') into English, becoming the modern English verb 'asphyxiate'.
Initially it referred to the state 'without a pulse' or 'loss of pulsation', but over time it evolved to the current meaning of 'to deprive of oxygen or cause suffocation', and by extension to figurative senses of 'stifle' or 'overwhelm'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
past tense or past participle form of 'asphyxiate'.
He was asphyxiated after the gas leak was ignored.
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Adjective 1
deprived of oxygen and unable to breathe; rendered unconscious or dead by lack of oxygen (literal).
The firefighters found several people asphyxiated by the smoke.
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Adjective 2
figuratively constrained or stifled, as if deprived of air (e.g., an environment or situation that is oppressive or overly restrictive).
The small company felt asphyxiated by the industry's regulations.
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Last updated: 2025/10/31 09:45