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