smother
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To suffocate; stifle.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
smuhtherSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsmʌðɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To suffocate; stifle; obstruct, more or less completely, the respiration of something or someone.
transitive
To extinguish or deaden, as fire, by covering, overlaying, or otherwise excluding the air.
transitive
To reduce to a low degree of vigor or activity; suppress or do away with; extinguish
intransitive
To breathe with great difficulty by reason of smoke, dust, close covering or wrapping, or the like.
intransitiveof a fire
To burn very slowly for want of air; smolder.
intransitivefiguratively
To perish, grow feeble, or decline, by suppression or concealment; be stifled; be suppressed or concealed.
noun
Cookware used in such cooking.
Smoldering; slow combustion.
That which smothers or appears to smother, particularly
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To suffocate; stifle; obstruct, more or less completely, the respiration of something or someone.
Used this way, smother is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- asphyxiate , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use smother
- “Othello smothered Desdemona with a pillow.”verb
- “The butter cream smothered the cake.”verb
- “Smother the meat in gravy.”verb
Share your sentence
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to suffocate
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “smother” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.