suffocate
Definitions
To die or cause to die from lack of air or inability to breathe.
To feel or cause to feel oppressed, constrained, or unable to act freely.
Examples
The thick smoke in the room made it difficult to breathe and threatened to suffocate everyone inside.
Tight collars can sometimes make a person feel like they are starting to suffocate.
The dense ivy began to suffocate the small sapling, blocking out all of its sunlight.