smother

1 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 choke, stifle, strangle, suffocate Related Words garrote (or garotte), throttle; asphyxiate; drown; croak [slang], destroy, dispatch, do in, fell, slay Near Antonyms breathe, exhale, expire, inhale, inspire; resuscitate, revive

2 to refrain from openly showing or uttering <he quickly smothered his inappropriate laughter at the funeral ceremony> Synonyms choke (back), hold back, pocket, repress, sink, suppress, stifle, strangle, submerge, swallowRelated Words control, govern, manage; bridle, check, curb, quash, quell; bottle up, contain; muffle, squelchNear Antonyms express, loose, release, take out, unleash, vent

3 to defeat by a large margin <the soccer team smothered their first few opponents in the championships, but lost narrowly in the final round> Synonyms annihilate, blow away, bomb, bury, clobber, cream, drub, dust, flatten, paste, rout, shellac, skin, skunk, smoke [slang], whip, snow under, thrash, trim, tromp, trounce, wallop, wax [slang], whomp, whop (or whap), whupRelated Words sweep, upset; beat, best, conquer, dispatch, hurdle, lick, master, overbear, overcome, overmatch, prevail (over), subdue, surmount, take, throw, triumph (over), win (against), worst; crush, knock off, knock over, overpower, overthrow, overwhelm, subjugate, upend, vanquish; ace (out), better, eclipse, exceed, outdistance, outdo, outfight, outshine, outstrip, overtop, surpass, top, transcend; edge (out), nose out, pip [British]; cap, excel, flourish, score, succeed; break, destroy, do in, finish, sink, slaughter