Skip to content

asphyxier

asphyxiate, suffocate

verb ahs-feek-SYEH Rare

Origin: Greek asphyxia (stopping of the pulse)

Usage Note

Asphyxier is used both literally (to suffocate a person or animal) and figuratively (to stifle or choke, as taxes asphyxient an economy). The reflexive s'asphyxier means to suffocate oneself. The related noun is asphyxie (f) and the adjective asphyxiant(e) means suffocating or stifling.

Examples

"La fumée risquait de les asphyxier."

Natural Translation

The smoke threatened to asphyxiate them.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore French by topic