Underventilate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To provide insufficient fresh air circulation to a room, building, or enclosed area so that it becomes stuffy or poorly aerated
2. To fail to supply enough air movement to an enclosed space, leaving it stale and inadequately ventilated
3. Describing a space that receives too little airflow from its ventilation system, causing air to become stale and heavy

Etymology: "Underventilate" is a plain compound: the prefix "under-", meaning insufficiently or not enough, attached to "ventilate." That second part comes from Latin "ventilare," meaning to fan or blow air through, built from "ventus," wind. So the word describes air being supplied at too low a rate, a sense that sits directly on the older, literal idea of fanning air. The base word "ventilate" carried the physical meaning of creating a current of air for centuries before it took on figurative senses such as airing out an opinion or a grievance. "Underventilate" follows the literal track, applying the prefix to the concrete business of moving air through a room, a mine, or a lung.

Synonyms: stifle, suffocate

Antonyms: ventilate, aerate