1
as in to strangle
to be or cause to be killed by lack of breathable air
children should never play inside discarded appliances because they could become trapped and smother
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stifle
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
he quickly smothered his inappropriate laughter at the funeral ceremony
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to bury
to defeat by a large margin
the soccer team smothered their first few opponents in the championships, but lost narrowly in the final round
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smother
George Will, Twin Cities, 20 Mar. 2025
It’s smothered with American cheese and served with lettuce, tomato and griddled onion on a hoagie roll.
—Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 20 Mar. 2025
Anthony Reardon, Kansas City Star, 21 Feb. 2025
Here, unable to transcend his previous work, the Englishman smothers the same performance in whinging self-regard.
—Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smother
Verb
Trump lost in 2020 because voters, weary of a political diet consisting of huge dollops of turmoil smothered in a gravy of malice, thought Joe Biden promised tranquility.
—George Will, Twin Cities, 20 Mar. 2025
It’s smothered with American cheese and served with lettuce, tomato and griddled onion on a hoagie roll.
—Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 20 Mar. 2025
Noun
Applying dormant oil sprays can smother overwintering pest eggs for fruit trees or shrubs.
—Anthony Reardon, Kansas City Star, 21 Feb. 2025
Here, unable to transcend his previous work, the Englishman smothers the same performance in whinging self-regard.
—Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smother
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smother
Verb
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Earlier this year, audio was released from 2022, where Majors admitted to having strangled his partner at the time.—
DeMicia Inman,
VIBE.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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Michael Tanzi, 48, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. at Florida State Prison for the April 2000 kidnapping and strangling death of Janet Acosta, a production worker at The Miami Herald.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Semiconductor stocks that have struggled on fears that tariffs could stifle demand for many consumer products and slow the economy also jumped.—
Samantha Subin,
CNBC,
9 Apr. 2025
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Still, the move represents another case of leaders stifling the tools of the minority and deferring to Trump.—
Emily Brooks,
The Hill,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Play defense straight up and Bueckers will bury them.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
1 Apr. 2025
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The structure is made of opus reticulatum—bricks laid in a diamond pattern—and contains a volcanic rock called tuff: details suggesting high status individuals were buried here, as Artnet News’ Richard Whiddington reports.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
To sustain his effort, Thurmond prepared by dehydrating himself with steam baths and reportedly used a bucket in a cloakroom to avoid leaving the floor.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2025
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But instead of going full steam ahead with expanding on a nascent horror franchise, the brothers are returning instead with another new, original horror film — one that promises to be weirder, gorier, scarier, and sadder than their debut.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Some of the aspiring stars who blew away the judges in the auditions round choked and failed to give their best showings, which led to the end of the road for standouts like Landynn Kennedy, Sam Sparks and Mikaela Bautista.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2025
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The move comes on the heels of the police report Stern filed claiming that a March 11 encounter at the Beverly Hills Hotel started out consensually but ended with Tate choking her nearly unconscious.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
To tell the Blue Devils, basically, not to suppress their emotions.—
Brendan Marks,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
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The new, later Equal Pay Day marks a troubling reminder of how systemic barriers—ranging from occupational segregation to discrimination in hiring and promotion—continue to suppress the earning power of Black women.—
Jasmine Browley,
Essence,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Republicans will need Democratic support to overcome a 60-vote threshold to be able to pass the bill in the Senate.—
John Parkinson,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2025
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After Republicans in the House and Senate had forged ahead on their own budget blueprints earlier this year, the Senate on Saturday adopted the compromise resolution, giving the House just days to overcome opposition and get it over the finish line before the recess.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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But other places are gone, in a cloud of dust, and in their place are gleaming new things.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
7 Apr. 2025
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Later reports claimed that the plane had been hit by Russian shrapnel targeting Ukrainian drones, but the aircraft had already been struggling before the hit, having flown into a cloud of thick fog while losing satellite positioning data.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
7 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smother.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smother. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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