Synonyms of smothering

smothering 1 of 2

adjective

as in suffocating

Related Words

• suffocating
• oppressive
• stifling
• stuffy
• moist
• subtropical
• tropical
• semitropical
• close
• heavy
• tropic
• clammy
• dank
• dripping
• sweltering
• steamy
• soaking
• saturated
• subhumid
• soaked
• torrid
• drenched
• soggy
• bathed
• sodden
• sopping
• washed
• wet
• summery
• waterlogged
• watered
• damp
• awash
• humid
• watery
• summerlike
• sticky
• muggy
• sultry
• doused
• soppy
• soused

Dissimilar Words

• dry
• bracing
• fresh
• refreshing
• cool
• crisp
• arid
• scorched
• baked
• burned
• dusty
• dehydrated
• droughty
• desert
• thirsty
• semiarid
• invigorating
• parched
• seared
• sunbaked
• sere
• waterless

smothering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of smother

1

as in strangling

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

• strangling
• choking
• suffocating
• stifling
• drowning
• destroying
• asphyxiating
• throttling
• slaying
• garroting
• dispatching
• felling
• croaking
• doing in

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breathing
• inhaling
• expiring
• inspiring
• exhaling
• reviving
• resuscitating

2

as in stifling

to refrain from openly showing or uttering

he quickly smothered his inappropriate laughter at the funeral ceremony

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stifling
• suppressing
• swallowing
• strangling
• repressing
• controlling
• submerging
• containing
• choking (back)
• managing
• holding back
• sinking
• pocketing
• governing
• curbing
• quashing
• checking
• quelling
• bridling
• muffling
• squelching
• bottling up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• expressing
• releasing
• venting
• taking out
• unleashing
• loosing

3

as in burying

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

• burying
• overcoming
• whipping
• bombing
• throwing
• upsetting
• flattening
• annihilating
• beating
• dusting
• thrashing
• trimming
• mastering
• smoking
• overwhelming
• routing
• pasting
• topping
• creaming
• taking
• destroying
• clobbering
• waxing
• surpassing
• tromping
• exceeding
• sweeping
• whopping
• conquering
• blowing away
• succeeding
• scoring
• crushing
• skinning
• trouncing
• whomping
• whupping
• walloping
• drubbing
• subduing
• capping
• dispatching
• shellacking
• licking
• eating alive
• skunking
• overpowering
• beating the pants off
• subjugating
• surmounting
• snowing under
• vanquishing
• running circles around
• wiping the floor with
• slaughtering
• overthrowing
• finishing
• overbearing
• upending
• transcending
• outshining
• eclipsing
• outdoing
• prevailing (over)
• winning (against)
• besting
• outstripping
• flourishing
• hurdling
• outdistancing
• excelling
• triumphing (over)
• overmatching
• knocking over
• bettering
• overtopping
• worsting
• knocking off
• breaking
• sinking
• outfighting
• edging (out)
• pipping
• acing (out)
• doing in
• nosing out

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of smothering

Verb

Rodri, Spain’s captain and the anchor of the team’s smothering defense during its unbeaten World Cup run, won the Golden Ball award as the outstanding player of the tournament. — Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

Argentina battled Spain’s smothering defense, but Messi was limited to just 15 touches during the first half, according to ESPN. — Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 20 July 2026

The wildfires have also generated smothering smoke clouds across Canadian and US cities while inflicting hazardous air pollution upon more than 100 million people. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2026

Until that breathtaking final 15 minutes, Egypt largely nullified this strategy by packing the centre themselves and smothering those central spaces. — Phil Hay, New York Times, 16 July 2026

The entire roster struggled with smothering on-ball pressure from the Grizzlies. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2026

Like English ivy, kudzu spreads very aggressively, smothering out native species and potentially becoming a real problem for your garden. — Helena Madden, Martha Stewart, 23 June 2026

The heat in the car is like an aunt who does not stop smothering us. — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026

The Tigers’ defense was also smothering all game. — Erik Anderson, Boston Herald, 18 May 2026