CHOKE

Breathe with great difficulty, as when experiencing a strong emotion

Example: "She choked with emotion when she spoke about her deceased husband"

Be too tight; rub or press

Example: "This neckband is choking the cat"

Wring the neck of

Example: "The man choked his opponent"

Constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing

Struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake

Example: "He swallowed a fishbone and gagged"

Fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation

Example: "The team should have won hands down but choked, disappointing the coach and the audience"

Check or slow down the action or effect of

Example: "She choked her anger"

Become or cause to become obstructed

Example: "The leaves clog our drains in the fall"

Impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of

Example: "The foul air was slowly suffocating the children"

Become stultified, suppressed, or stifled

Example: "He is suffocating--living at home with his aged parents in the small village"

Suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of

Example: "His job suffocated him"

Pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life

Example: "She died from cancer"

Reduce the air supply

Example: "Choke a carburetor"

Cause to retch or choke