smother
/'smʌðə/
Definition
Verb (Transitive):
- To suffocate or kill by depriving of air; to extinguish (a fire) by cutting off its oxygen supply.
- To cover thickly or excessively; to envelop completely.
- To suppress or conceal (an emotion, sound, or action).
- To overwhelm someone with an excessive amount of something.
Noun:
- A state of being stifled or suffocated.
- A dense, suffocating cloud of smoke, dust, or other particles.
Examples of Usage
Verb:
- The firefighters used a blanket to smother the small kitchen fire.
- She tried to smother her laughter during the serious meeting.
- The chef smothered the steak in a rich mushroom gravy.
- He felt smothered by his family's constant attention and expectations.
Noun:
- A smother of dust rose from the collapsed building.
- The room was filled with a smother of smoke from the fireplace.
Advanced Usage
"To smother someone/something with/in something": To cover or overwhelm completely.
- The valley was smothered in a thick blanket of fog.
- She smothered her children with affection.
"To smother something out": To extinguish or suppress something completely.
- The new regulations aim to smother out corruption in the department.
Variants and Related Words
Smothery (adj): Tending to cause a smothering sensation; stifling.
- The room was hot and smothery.
Smotheration (n, informal): An act or instance of smothering.
- The constant advice felt like a smotheration of his independence.
Synonyms
- Suffocate: To die or cause to die from lack of air.
- Stifle: To restrain or suppress (a sound, emotion, or action).
- Extinguish: To put out (a fire or light).
- Envelop: To surround and cover completely.
- Suppress: To prevent the development or expression of something.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Smother up: To conceal or cover up (a fact, scandal, etc.).
- They tried to smother up the details of the incident.
Related Idioms
To be smothered with kisses: To be kissed repeatedly and enthusiastically.
- The grandmother smothered her grandchild with kisses.
A smother of kindness: An overwhelming amount of kindness that can feel restrictive.
- His hospitality was a smother of kindness that left us little room to breathe.
Noun
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a stifling cloud of smoke
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a confused multitude of things
Verb
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deprive of the oxygen necessary for combustion
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smother fires
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form an impenetrable cover over
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the butter cream smothered the cake
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conceal or hide
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smother a yawn
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muffle one's anger
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strangle a yawn
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deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing
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Othello smothered Desdemona with a pillow
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The child suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents had left on the floor
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envelop completely
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smother the meat in gravy
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