asphyxiate
/əsˈfɪksieɪt/verb
asphyxiate is spelled A-S-P-H-Y-X-I-A-T-E: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, asphyxiate means “To smother or suffocate someone” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in asphyxiate?
| Letters | 10: A-S-P-H-Y-X-I-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 122,704th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is asphyxiate?
Asphyxiate appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce asphyxiate?
- /əsˈfɪksieɪt/
Asphyxiate has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-asphyxiate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of asphyxiate
- asphyxiates present, singular, he/she/it
- asphyxiating participle, present
- asphyxiated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does asphyxiate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To smother or suffocate someone.
- 2
To be smothered or suffocated.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Asphyxiate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | asphyxier, faire suffoquer , s'asphyxier, suffoquer |
| Portuguese | sufocar , sufocar-se |
| Spanish | asfixiar, sofocar , asfixiarse, sofocarse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does asphyxiate come from?
From asphyxia + -ate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).