(v)smother, asphyxiate, suffocatedeprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing“Othello smothered Desdemona with a pillow”, “The child suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents had left on the floor”
(v)smother, stifle, strangle, muffle, represssuppress in order to conceal or hide“smother a yawn”, “muffle one's anger”, “strangle a laugh”, “repress a cry of fear”