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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smother
Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026
Scientists feared the Santa Monica Mountains’ last remaining steelhead trout were dead, smothered by debris flows unleashed by the Palisades fire.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
South Grand Prairie smothers Richardson to move on South Grand Prairie got 19 points from Janae Johnson to lead the Warriors to a 41-26 drubbing of Richardson in a Class 6A Division I bi-district game on Monday.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for smother
Verb
When doctors smothered it in ointment, about 45 larvae crawled out.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026
Scientists feared the Santa Monica Mountains’ last remaining steelhead trout were dead, smothered by debris flows unleashed by the Palisades fire.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
Noun
Some of us virtuously recycle items that will be transported across the world to smother island nations in single-use plastic bags and water bottles, milk jugs, yogurt tubs, pet food and potato chip bags, Styrofoam meat trays, Coke bottles, Amazon mailing envelopes, and fast-food wrappers.
—Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
South Grand Prairie smothers Richardson to move on South Grand Prairie got 19 points from Janae Johnson to lead the Warriors to a 41-26 drubbing of Richardson in a Class 6A Division I bi-district game on Monday.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for smother
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smother
Verb
-
He had been arrested for allegedly strangling his then-girlfriend, Johnny Faye Cartwright, in 2020.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
10 June 2026
-
Another was strangled and left in an alley, and a third died from blunt-force trauma to the head, prosecutors said.—
Karen Kucher,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
The knockout stage is where the stakes get higher and the pressure becomes stifling.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
11 June 2026
-
Deficient Integrity leads to scandals like match-fixing, while excessive rigidity can stifle adaptability.—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Islamic law requires the deceased to be buried as soon as possible, and ideally within 24 hours of death, but exceptions are allowed, for example in time of war.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
13 June 2026
-
He’ll be buried there at the Imam Reza Shrine, considered the holiest place among Shiite devotees.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 June 2026
Noun
-
With a full hydrotherapy circuit, including a steam room, sauna, cold plunge, and hot tub, there are 21 treatment rooms, and the program here leans heavily into massage rituals and facials.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 June 2026
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Phongam plays off Jittri’s steam-rolling ambition to electrifying results in a rather addictive Thai thriller series that throws a lot of story at ya.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Green Bay then choked away a 21-3 halftime lead and a 21-6 advantage after three quarters in an eventual 31-27 loss to Chicago in the Wild Card round.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
-
Police in the northwest Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights have released a sketch of a man accused of attacking and choking a woman this past weekend.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
But suppressing undesirable emotions is not only impossible but also not all that helpful.—
Dr. Deepika Chopra,
Flow Space,
16 June 2026
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Among the combinations studied, the team found that electron leakage could be suppressed at dimensions below 4 nanometers, suggesting future transistors may be scaled even further than current technologies allow.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
The Bulldogs fell behind 3-0 in the first and could not overcome the early deficit thanks to the efforts of OU starting pitcher Xander Mercurius’ 7 1/3 quality innings pitched.—
Hunter DeLauder,
AJC.com,
16 June 2026
-
Chasing atomic limits To overcome that challenge, the KAIST team relied on first-principles calculations, a computational approach that predicts material behavior using the laws of physics rather than experimental data.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Kansas City’s morning commute will be accompanied by showers and non-severe storms before clouds clear out and give the region a sunny break.—
Kendrick Calfee
June 16,
Kansas City Star,
16 June 2026
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Subtle audio tracks the sound of ice on the move, views of clouds passing over glass-like ice, and there's the eventual memorial for Ok.—
Erika Owen,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smother.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smother. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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