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smother - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'smother' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Smother [ v. i.]
- To be suffocated or stifled.
- To burn slowly, without sufficient air; to smolder.
2 . Smother [ v. t.]
- 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.
- 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.
- Hence, to repress the action of; to cover from public view; to suppress; to conceal; as, to smother one's displeasure.
- Stifling smoke; thick dust.
- A state of suppression.

Meaning of 'smother' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . smother [ v]
Meaning (1):
- suppress in order to conceal or hide
Example in sentence:
  • muffle one's anger;
  • repress a cry of fear;
  • smother a yawn;
  • strangle a laugh
Meaning (2):
- deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing
Example in sentence:
  • Othello smothered Desdemona with a pillow;
  • The child suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents had left on the floor
Meaning (3):
- deprive of the oxygen necessary for combustion
Example in sentence:
  • smother fires
Meaning (4):
- envelop completely
Example in sentence:
  • smother the meat in gravy
Meaning (5):
- form an impenetrable cover over
Example in sentence:
  • the butter cream smothered the cake

Nearby Words:

smock smock frock smock-faced smockless smokable smoke smoke-dry smoked smokehouse smokejack

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