1
as in choked
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2
as in muted
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in strangled
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stifled
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
he quickly smothered his inappropriate laughter at the funeral ceremony
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in buried
to defeat by a large margin
the soccer team smothered their first few opponents in the championships, but lost narrowly in the final round
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Recent Examples of smothered
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
Otherwise, Rhoda picks the red rice; Laurence and Oscar pick the hoppin’ John; Anthony and Brittany pick collard greens; Duyen and Brandon pick the smothered cabbage; Justin and Sherry pick potato salad; and Jonathan and Jennifer pick the hoecakes.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Robust, malty, and melt-in-your-mouth tender, this smothered cabbage recipe will warm your soul and delight your tastebuds.
—Pableaux Johnson, Southern Living, 25 Nov. 2025
The smothered steak biscuit is available to order in-store and online through January 2026, a Bojangles spokesperson told CharlotteFive.
—Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 7 Nov. 2025
ABC News, 16 May 2026
Moments later, Harris pressed again, but Marcinkowski smothered the shot at point-blank range to keep the visitors’ halftime deficit at 2-0.
—Daily News, 14 May 2026
Before this, in the mid 20th century, a standard cut of meat at mealtimes was a pork loin or beef steak, smothered in cream sauce.
—Rebecca Firkser, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 May 2026
The Canadiens also smothered the Sabres for three straight periods to skate to a dominant 6-2 win and take a 2-1 series lead.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 11 May 2026
Through the first three games of the series, the Golden Knights smothered Anaheim’s power play, killing all 11 penalties Vegas took in the series.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2026
On the other hand, some volcanoes prefer to ambush us, even when smothered in instrumentation.
—Quanta Magazine, 8 May 2026
The Hurricanes won 3-0 in Saturday night's best-of-seven opener, with Tocchet saying his team didn't react quickly enough to the Hurricanes' aggressive skating that ultimately smothered the Flyers' attack.
—CBS News, 4 May 2026
Then there is the matter of which stories receive oxygen and which ones are smothered with a decorative pillow.
—Larry Clifton, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 May 2026
Adjective
Breakfast is a treat, with made-from-scratch English muffins and housemade jams, plus heartier items like a smothered breakfast burrito.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
Otherwise, Rhoda picks the red rice; Laurence and Oscar pick the hoppin’ John; Anthony and Brittany pick collard greens; Duyen and Brandon pick the smothered cabbage; Justin and Sherry pick potato salad; and Jonathan and Jennifer pick the hoecakes.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Robust, malty, and melt-in-your-mouth tender, this smothered cabbage recipe will warm your soul and delight your tastebuds.
—Pableaux Johnson, Southern Living, 25 Nov. 2025
The smothered steak biscuit is available to order in-store and online through January 2026, a Bojangles spokesperson told CharlotteFive.
—Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 7 Nov. 2025
Verb
The reddish-brown mud that smothered Bok Kongphan's Hawaii farm has hardened in the tropical sun.
—ABC News, 16 May 2026
Moments later, Harris pressed again, but Marcinkowski smothered the shot at point-blank range to keep the visitors’ halftime deficit at 2-0.
—Daily News, 14 May 2026
Before this, in the mid 20th century, a standard cut of meat at mealtimes was a pork loin or beef steak, smothered in cream sauce.
—Rebecca Firkser, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 May 2026
The Canadiens also smothered the Sabres for three straight periods to skate to a dominant 6-2 win and take a 2-1 series lead.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 11 May 2026
Through the first three games of the series, the Golden Knights smothered Anaheim’s power play, killing all 11 penalties Vegas took in the series.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2026
On the other hand, some volcanoes prefer to ambush us, even when smothered in instrumentation.
—Quanta Magazine, 8 May 2026
The Hurricanes won 3-0 in Saturday night's best-of-seven opener, with Tocchet saying his team didn't react quickly enough to the Hurricanes' aggressive skating that ultimately smothered the Flyers' attack.
—CBS News, 4 May 2026
Then there is the matter of which stories receive oxygen and which ones are smothered with a decorative pillow.
—Larry Clifton, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smothered
Adjective
-
San Franciscans who think Muni buses are always packed, or prone to crawl along choked streets, may find their views validated in a new slide presentation released by the Municipal Transportation Agency.—
Rachel Swan,
San Francisco Chronicle,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
That goes for much here, from the light that scurries away from Benjamín Echazarreta’s muted camera, to the moments of sweetness that punctuate Mariá Portugal’s largely ominous score.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
14 May 2026
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Moreover, the brand’s growth in Europe, Middle East and Africa was impacted by muted consumer sentiment in Europe due to both higher energy costs and inflation and because the conflict impacted the brand’s ability to ship into the Middle East.—
Vicki M. Young,
Footwear News,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Martin, a former county transit worker, beat, strangled and raped the woman after offering her a ride, prosecutor say.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
18 May 2026
-
Just as with Weaver, Vesey was bound with electrical cords before she was raped and strangled, the papers state.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
And while the state has seen strong GDP growth in recent months, business groups still worry that this economic success could be stifled by limited job growth and economic uncertainty in the wake of federal policy changes.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
-
Embarrassed in the first period, stifled in the second, the Avs did something that almost never happens in this town with this team.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Even after hundreds of years of excavations, around a third of Pompeii still lies buried beneath volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.—
Preeti Jha,
semafor.com,
22 May 2026
-
When the counter is buried, there’s nowhere to chop.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Sacbee.com,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
By the time volunteer firefighters from nearby Cachagua arrived, McCord estimated that the fire was about 70% extinguished.—
Lucy Hodgman,
San Francisco Chronicle,
27 Mar. 2026
-
That conditional pick, acquired in August’s salary dump of Haywood Highsmith, effectively has become extinguished.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Typically, this imaging uses sensors that can pick up femtotesla or picatesla range of magnetic fields, weaker than even refrigerator magnets.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
22 May 2026
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In some cases, value starts to soften not because the business is weak, but because the growth story is not fully proven.—
David Chapman,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
The Detroit fans who stuck around until the end of the game were drowned out by the bus loads of Cavaliers fans.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
-
But with the mood in the Islamic Republic increasingly tense, and the country potentially on the brink of a resumption of war, all but the hardline official messaging seems to be drowned out.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smothered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smothered. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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