SUFFOCATE

[verb] - to (cause someone to) die because of a lack of oxygenThe report said that the victims had suffocated in the fumes. [I]She suffocated him by holding a pillow over his head until he stopped moving. [T](figurative informal) I've got to open the window - it's suffocating (= uncomfortably hot and lacking fresh air) in here! [I]To suffocate something is to prevent its advancement and positive development.The democratic press, he said, was suffocated by the Communist Party. [T]It remains to this day a land of antiquated social rules and suffocating traditions. [I]