different between suffocate vs stiffy

English

Etymology

From Latin suffocatus, past participle of suffocare (“to choke, stifle”), from sub (“under”) + faux (“the upper part of the throat, the pharynx”).

Pronunciation

• (verb) IPA^(key): /?s?f?ke?t/
• (adjective) IPA^(key): /?s?f?k?t/

Verb

suffocate (third-person singular simple present suffocates, present participle suffocating, simple past and past participle suffocated)

1. (ergative) To suffer, or cause someone to suffer, from severely reduced oxygen intake to the body.
2. (ergative) To die due to, or kill someone by means of, insufficient oxygen supply to the body.

3. (ergative, figuratively) To overwhelm, or be overwhelmed (by a person or issue), as though with oxygen deprivation.
4. (transitive) To destroy; to extinguish.

Synonyms

• (To suffer from reduced oxygen): asphyxiate, choke
• (To die from insufficient oxygen): stifle, choke
• (To be overwhelmed): drown
• (To reduce oxygen supply): asphyxiate, choke, smother
• (To kill by deprivation of oxygen): asphyxiate, choke, stifle
• (To make weary with contact): smother

Derived terms

• suffocation

Related terms

• asphyxia

Translations

Adjective

suffocate (comparative more suffocate, superlative most suffocate)

1. (obsolete) Suffocated; choked.

Further reading

• suffocate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• suffocate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• suffocate at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• offuscate

Latin

Verb

suff?c?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of suff?c?

English

Etymology

stiff +? -y

Pronunciation

• enPR: st?f'i, IPA^(key): /?st?fi/
• Rhymes: -?fi

Noun

stiffy (plural stiffies)

1. (vulgar, slang) An erection of the penis.

   Fred's got a bulge in his pants - you can tell that he's got a stiffy.

2. (South Africa) A computer floppy disk of the kind supplied in a stiff plastic outer shell.

   Never leave home without a spare stiffy disc in your bag.

3. (slang) An extended magazine of a gun.

Synonyms

• (erection of the penis): woody
• (3.5 inch floppy disk): stiffy disc

Related terms

• computer
• floppy (disc)
• CD (disc)
• flash drive