suffocating

/ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ/

//ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"suffocating" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“suffocating” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,983. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,983
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of suffocate

Corpus desk

Index EN-suffocating · suffocating · English

suffocating · rank #26,983 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #26,983
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH succumb

Nearest frequency peer: succumb (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “suffocating”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “suffocating” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

suffocating vs suffocation
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for suffocating
PropertyValue
Headwordsuffocating
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ/
Letters11
Frequency rank#26,983
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “suffocating”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).suffocatinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “succumb” (#26,982), “sumo” (#26,985), “subdue” (#26,980). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “suffocating” is #26,983. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around suffocating (IPA /ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #26,983 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of suffocate".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for suffocating, with forms such as "sfufocating", "ssuffocating", and "suffcoating". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "suffocation", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is suffocating, spelled S-U-F-F-O-C-A-T-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of suffocate

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sfufocating
  • ssuffocating
  • suffcoating
  • suffoacting
  • suffocaitng
  • suffocatign
  • suffocatingg
  • suffocatinng
  • suffocatnig
  • suffocatting
  • suffoccating
  • suffoctaing
  • sufocating
  • sufofcating
  • usffocating

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of suffocating - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

sfufocating2ssuffocating1suffcoating2suffoacting2suffocaitng2suffocatign2suffocatingg1suffocatinng1
Edit distance from "suffocating"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "suffocating"?
"suffocating" is spelled S-U-F-F-O-C-A-T-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ/.
What does "suffocating" mean?
As a verb, "suffocating" means: present participle and gerund of suffocate
What words are commonly confused with "suffocating"?
"suffocating" is commonly confused with "suffocation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "suffocating"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "suffocating" is /ˈsʌfəkeɪtɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "suffocating" come from?
"suffocating" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "suffocating", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

woodworking#27,031aquaculture#27,050Balochistan#27,065Marlborough#26,879

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

tabernacle15 variantsserpentine15 variantsxenophobic15 variantsnonviolent15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list