ZebraWords.com - The Definition of 'Smother', Synonyms of 'Smother' & More on 'Smother'

1. WordNet® 3.0 (2006)

smother
    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]

2. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Smother \Smoth"er\, v. i.
   1. To be suffocated or stifled.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To burn slowly, without sufficient air; to smolder.
      [1913 Webster]

3. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Smother \Smoth"er\, n. [OE. smorther. See Smother, v. t.]
   1. Stifling smoke; thick dust. --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A state of suppression. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            Not to keep their suspicions in smother. --Bacon.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. 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 1913 Suppl.]

   Smother fly (Zool.), an aphid.
      [1913 Webster]

4. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

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.
      [1913 Webster]

   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.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Hence, to repress the action of; to cover from public
      view; to suppress; to conceal; as, to smother one's
      displeasure.
      [1913 Webster]

Thesaurus Results for smother:

1. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

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

Common Misspellings >