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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smothered
Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026
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
Tanya Babbar, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 June 2026
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
Dougherty led the criminal investigation that found two sources for the fire – an old fire that had been insufficiently smothered and Xcel power lines.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 8 June 2026
Brunson, smothered by the Spurs’ tenacious defense, missed shot after shot, but—clutch as ever—tied the game at 104 with an off-kilter jumper, then was in the right place to make the game-winning play when Wembanyama threw the ball away, and scored the game-winning point.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 7 June 2026
The Giants’ lineup smothered the Cubs’ pitchers, hitting seven home runs and scoring the first 16 runs of the game en route to an 18-3 walloping at Wrigley Field.
—Andy Martinez, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
Gilgeous-Alexander, smothered and bothered, was a minus-13 in the period.
—William Guillory, New York Times, 31 May 2026
The best slice pizza, according to the guide, comes from L’Industrie Pizzeria in New York, which is known for a slice smothered in Burrata.
—Connie Ogle
may 29, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026
Adjective
Outside of smothered biscuit sandwiches, District Biskuits also sells mac and cheese, chicken tenders with various dipping sauces, waffle fries and other sides.
—Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026
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
One night in 1983, the two smothered Smith’s kitchen in corn kernels.
—Tanya Babbar, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 June 2026
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
Dougherty led the criminal investigation that found two sources for the fire – an old fire that had been insufficiently smothered and Xcel power lines.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 8 June 2026
Brunson, smothered by the Spurs’ tenacious defense, missed shot after shot, but—clutch as ever—tied the game at 104 with an off-kilter jumper, then was in the right place to make the game-winning play when Wembanyama threw the ball away, and scored the game-winning point.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 7 June 2026
The Giants’ lineup smothered the Cubs’ pitchers, hitting seven home runs and scoring the first 16 runs of the game en route to an 18-3 walloping at Wrigley Field.
—Andy Martinez, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
Gilgeous-Alexander, smothered and bothered, was a minus-13 in the period.
—William Guillory, New York Times, 31 May 2026
The best slice pizza, according to the guide, comes from L’Industrie Pizzeria in New York, which is known for a slice smothered in Burrata.
—Connie Ogle
may 29, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smothered
Adjective
-
Baghaei said the future of the choked Strait of Hormuz will depend on the countries of Oman and Iran, as both nations have a plan to manage passage through the waterway.—
Alayna Treene,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
-
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
-
The abrupt end to her doubles foray at the HSBC Queen’s Club Championships was more muted.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
-
The array of feathers added pops of color to the dress, with muted, earthy tones like soft browns and golds and more featured throughout.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
After the brothers were arrested in Romania, the journalists Jamie Tahsin and Matt Shea reported on the women’s stories for Vice News, and another woman said that she, too, had been strangled and raped by Tate in 2014.—
Heidi Blake,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
-
Angel Guzman, 31, of Los Angeles, was among the four members of the gang MS-13 convicted of murdering three people, one of whom was kidnapped, strangled, attacked with machetes and dismembered, in the Angeles National Forest, federal authorities said.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
Wilson felt stifled and forced a trade to Denver.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
-
The war has stifled the flow of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.—
Damian J. Troise,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Although everyone comments on her beauty, 17-year-old Fatima prefers to tie her hair back in a ponytail, her bright eyes buried underneath a black ball cap, her body concealed in unflattering tracksuits.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
-
Years into the overhaul, Mulally’s then–heir apparent Mark Fields recalled how the CEO had empowered executives to defy Ford’s long-standing culture that buried bad news.—
Claire Zillman,
Fortune,
12 June 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
-
But his father contracted pneumonia in 2011, and after two decades in prison, his body was too weak to fight it.—
Yumi Asada,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
-
That gap is where signal blindness, misalignment, bottlenecks, execution delays and weak learning loops quietly convert external change into our fragilities.—
Christopher Washington,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Tshabalala’s thunderous strike sends the ball rocketing into the top right corner of Óscar Pérez’s net and fires the tournament hosts ahead, as the blaring drone of vuvuzelas is – somehow – drowned out by a roar heard across the country.—
Jack Bantock,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
-
Initially, investigators from the Placentia Police Department believed that the boy drowned while Beisel left him unattended to grab some soap for a bath.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smothered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smothered. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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