smother
[verb]
Synonyms:
- suffocate, choke, stifle, strangle
- suppress, conceal, hide, muffle, repress, stifle

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Related Words: hush up, muffle, cork, quash, quell, squelch, quench

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

smoth‧er /ˈsmʌðə $ -ər/ verb [transitive]
[Date: 1100-1200; Origin: smother 'thick smoke' (12-19 centuries), from Old English smorian 'to suffocate']

1. to completely cover the whole surface of something with something else, often in a way that seems unnecessary or unpleasant
smother something with/in something
noodles smothered in garlic sauce

2. to kill someone by putting something over their face to stop them breathing ⇒ suffocate:
A teenage mother was accused of smothering her 3-month-old daughter.

3. to stop yourself from showing your feelings or from doing an action Synonym : stifle:
The girls tried to smother their giggles.

4. to give someone so much love and attention that they feel as if they are not free and become unhappy:
I don’t want him to feel smothered.

5. smother somebody with kisses to kiss someone a lot

6. to make a fire stop burning by preventing air from reaching it:
We used a wet towel to smother the fire.

7. to get rid of anyone who opposes you – used to show disapproval:
They ruthlessly smother all opposition.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲