Word · Frequency #13924
suffocate
扑灭；毁灭
to destroy or extinguish something
- 1.
To destroy; to extinguish.
毁灭；扑灭。
毁灭；扑灭。；使窒息；噎住；闷熄；闷死
In use
The sudden downpour suffocated the campfire before we could cook dinner.
Micromanagement often suffocates employees' creativity and initiative.
Putting a glass over the candle will suffocate the flame.
suffocate something
此义下 suffocate 为及物动词，常接 fire、rebellion 等表示被扑灭或摧毁的对象。
The firefighters managed to suffocate the fire before it spread.
消防员设法在火势蔓延前扑灭了火。
be suffocated by something
The protest was suffocated by the government's heavy-handed response.
抗议活动被政府的强硬回应扑灭了。
suffocate something with something
She suffocated the small fire with a damp cloth.
她用一块湿布扑灭了小火。
Verb forms
base suffocate · third person suffocates · -ing suffocating · past suffocated · past participle suffocated
规则动词；本词条释义为“毁灭；扑灭”，注意其及物用法。
Common mistakes
The suffocate of the fire was caused by the rain.The suffocation of the fire was caused by the rain.
“suffocate”是动词，不能作名词。这里需要名词形式“suffocation”来充当句子的主语。
The fire suffocated.The fire was suffocated.
当“suffocate”表示“扑灭”时是及物动词，必须带宾语或用被动语态。原句缺少宾语和被动标记，应改为被动形式。
The firefighters suffocated out the fire.The firefighters suffocated the fire.
“suffocate”本身已含“扑灭”之意，不需要再加“out”。这是受中文“扑灭”中“灭”的结果补语影响的错误。
Connections
Collocations
- suffocate the flames
- 扑灭火焰
- They used sand to suffocate the flames.他们用沙子扑灭了火焰。
- suffocate a rebellion
- 镇压叛乱
- The army was sent in to suffocate the rebellion.军队被派去镇压叛乱。
- suffocate dissent
- 压制异议
- The authorities tried to suffocate dissent.当局试图压制异议。
- suffocate creativity
- 扼杀创造力
- Rigid rules can suffocate creativity.僵化的规则会扼杀创造力。
- suffocate economic growth
- 扼杀经济增长
- Excessive regulation may suffocate economic growth.过度的监管可能会扼杀经济增长。
Synonyms
Learner notes
Memory Tip
把燃烧的火苗闷进罐子，它窒息而灭；suffocate 正是‘扑灭/毁灭’的联想。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：灭火/火灾扑救、抽象/书面表达 该义项表示使火焰因缺氧而熄灭，或使抽象事物（如想法、希望）被压制而消失。用法会随语境变化：用于灭火时较具体、接近中性；用于抽象含义时多出现在书面或正式表达中。日常口语中较少直接用这个义项。
Pronunciation & Spelling
这些词都含 -cate 且末尾发 /keɪt/，适合对照拼读。其中 dedicate /ˈdedɪkeɪt/ 与 medicate /ˈmedɪkeɪt/ 为真押韵（重读元音及之后相同）；但都不与 suffocate /ˈsʌfəkeɪt/ 押韵，因为 suffocate 的重读部分 /ˈsʌf-/ 使韵脚不同。另注意 allocate /ˈæləkeɪt/ 和 locate /ˈloʊkeɪt/ 拼写相近，但读音并不相同。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.