Adjacent Words

Smother definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SMOTHER, v.t. [allied perhaps to smoke.]
1. To suffocate of extinguish life by causing smoke or dust to enter the lungs; to stifle.
2. To suffocate or extinguish by closely covering, and be the exclustion of air; as, to smother a child in bed.
3. To suppress; to stifle; as, to smother the light of the understanding.
SMOTHER, n.
1. Smoke; thick dust.
2. A state of suppression. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a confused multitude of things [syn: clutter, jumble, muddle, fuddle, mare's nest, welter, smother]
2: a stifling cloud of smoke v
1: envelop completely; "smother the meat in gravy" [syn: smother, surround]
2: deprive 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" [syn: smother, asphyxiate, suffocate]
3: conceal or hide; "smother a yawn"; "muffle one's anger"; "strangle a yawn" [syn: smother, stifle, strangle, muffle, repress]
4: form an impenetrable cover over; "the butter cream smothered the cake"
5: deprive of the oxygen necessary for combustion; "smother fires" [syn: smother, put out]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, alteration of smorther, from smoren to smother, from Old English smorian to suffocate; akin to Middle Dutch smoren to suffocate Date: 13th century 1. a. thick stifling smoke or smudge b. a state of being stifled or suppressed 2. a dense cloud (as of fog or dust) 3. a confused multitude of things ; welter • smothery adjective II. verb (smothered; smothering) Date: circa 1520 intransitive verb to be overcome or killed through or as if through lack of air transitive verb 1. to overcome or kill with smoke or fumes 2. a. to kill by depriving of air b. to overcome or discomfit through or as if through lack of air c. to suppress (a fire) by excluding oxygen 3. a. to cause to smolder b. to suppress expression or knowledge of <smothered his rage> c. to stop or prevent the growth or activity of <smother a child with too much care>; also overwhelm d. to cover thickly ; blanket <snow smothered the trails> e. to overcome or vanquish quickly or decisively 4. to cook in a covered pan or pot with little liquid over low heat

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 tr. suffocate; stifle; kill by stopping the breath of or excluding air from. 2 tr. (foll. by with) overwhelm with (kisses, gifts, kindness, etc.) (smothered with affection). 3 tr. (foll. by in, with) cover entirely in or with (chicken smothered in mayonnaise). 4 tr. extinguish or deaden (a fire or flame) by covering it or heaping it with ashes etc. 5 intr. a die of suffocation. b have difficulty breathing. 6 tr. (often foll. by up) suppress or conceal; keep from notice or publicity. 7 tr. US defeat rapidly or utterly. --n. 1 a cloud of dust or smoke. 2 obscurity caused by this. Phrases and idioms: smothered mate Chess checkmate in which the king, having no vacant square to move to, is checkmated by a knight. Etymology: ME smorther f. the stem of OE smorian suffocate

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Smother Smoth"er, n. That which smothers or causes a sensation of smothering, as smoke, fog, the foam of the sea, a confused multitude of things. Then they vanished, swallowed up in the grayness of the evening and the smoke and smother of the storm. --The Century.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Smother Smoth"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Smothered; p. pr. & vb. n. Smothering.] [OE. smotheren; akin to E. smoor. See Smoor.] 1. To destroy the life of by suffocation; to deprive of the air necessary for life; to cover up closely so as to prevent breathing; to suffocate; as, to smother a child. 2. To affect as by suffocation; to stife; to deprive of air by a thick covering, as of ashes, of smoke, or the like; as, to smother a fire. 3. Hence, to repress the action of; to cover from public view; to suppress; to conceal; as, to smother one's displeasure.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Smother Smoth"er, v. i. 1. To be suffocated or stifled. 2. To burn slowly, without sufficient air; to smolder.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Smother Smoth"er, n. [OE. smorther. See Smother, v. t.] 1. Stifling smoke; thick dust. --Shak. 2. A state of suppression. [Obs.] Not to keep their suspicions in smother. --Bacon. Smother fly (Zo["o]l.), an aphid.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(smothers, smothering, smothered) 1. If you smother a fire, you cover it with something in order to put it out. The girl's parents were also burned as they tried to smother the flames. VERB: V n 2. To smother someone means to kill them by covering their face with something so that they cannot breathe. A father was secretly filmed as he tried to smother his six-week-old son in hospital. = suffocate VERB: V n 3. Things that smother something cover it completely. Once the shrubs begin to smother the little plants, we have to move them. VERB: V n 4. If you smother someone, you show your love for them too much and protect them too much. She loved her own children, almost smothering them with love. VERB: V n 5. If you smother an emotion or a reaction, you control it so that people do not notice it. She summoned up all her pity for him, to smother her self-pity. ...smothered giggles. = stifle VERB: V n, V-ed 6. If an activity or process is smothered, it is prevented from continuing or developing. Intellectual life in France was smothered by the occupation... The debts of both Poland and Hungary are beginning to smother the reform process. = stifle VERB: be V-ed, V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Stifle, suffocate, choke. 2. Suppress, repress, conceal, stifle, extinguish, hide, keep back, keep down. II. v. n. 1. Smoulder. 2. Be stifled, suffocate. 3. Be suppressed, be concealed.

Moby Thesaurus

OD, abate, allay, alleviate, asphyxiate, assuage, attemper, bake, bank the fire, be in heat, be killed, beat, black out, blanket, blaze, bloom, blow out, blunt, boil, bottle up, box, broil, burke, burn, case, censor, chasten, check, choke, choke off, clamp down on, clobber, collect, combust, conceal, constrain, control, cook, cool, cork, cork up, cover, cover up, crack down on, crate, crush, damp, damp down, dampen, de-emphasize, deaden, diminish, douse, downplay, drown, drub, dull, embox, embrace, encapsulate, encase, enfold, enshroud, envelop, enwrap, extenuate, extinguish, famish, flame, flame up, flare, flare up, flicker, flush, fry, gag, garrote, gasp, glow, hide, hold back, hold down, hugger-mugger, hush, hush up, hush-hush, incandesce, inhibit, inundate, invest, jump on, keep back, keep down, keep under, keep within bounds, kill, lambaste, lap, lay, lenify, lessen, lick, lighten, mask, mitigate, moderate, modulate, muffle, muzzle, obtund, out, overcome, overwhelm, pack, package, palliate, pant, parch, play down, pour water on, put down, put out, quash, quell, quench, radiate heat, reduce, reduce the temperature, rein, repress, restrain, roast, scald, scorch, seethe, sheathe, shellac, shimmer with heat, shower, shroud, shush, shut down on, silence, simmer, simmer down, sit down on, sit on, slack, slacken, slow down, smash, smear, smolder, snuff, snuff out, sober, sober down, soften, spark, squash, squelch, stamp out, stanch, starve, steam, stew, stifle, stop the breath, strangle, stultify, subdue, sublimate, suffocate, suppress, surround, sweat, swelter, tame, temper, thrash, throttle, toast, tone down, trample out, trample underfoot, trim, tune down, underplay, weaken, wrap, wrap about, wrap up