how to pronounce suffocate

/ˈsʌfəˌkɛɪt/

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the above transcription of suffocate is a detailed (narrow) transcription according to the rules of the International Phonetic Association; you can find a description of each symbol by clicking the phoneme buttons in the secction below.

suffocate is pronounced in three syllables

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example pitch curve for pronunciation of suffocate

sʌfəkɛɪt

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video examples of suffocate pronunciation

An example use of suffocate in a speech by a native speaker of american english:

“… afraid she might suffocate or roll off …”

meanings of suffocate

verb:

  1. To die due to, or kill someone by means of, insufficient oxygen supply to the body.
  2. To destroy; to extinguish.
  3. To overwhelm, or be overwhelmed (by a person or issue), as though with oxygen deprivation.
  4. To suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body.

adjective:

  1. Suffocated; choked.

suffocate frequency in english - C2+ level of CEFR

the word suffocate occurs in english on average 0.8 times per one million words; this frequency warrants it to be in the study list for C2+ level of language mastery according to CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference.

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