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

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 Boston Bruins would like to incorporate the Hurricanes’ smothering defense and relentless attack. — Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 16 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

Mired by the Texans’ smothering defense, Rodgers completed 17-of-33 passes for 146 yards, with no touchdowns, one interception and two fumbles. — Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 18 May 2026

There’s probably a smart, chilling film to be made about the terrors of smothering and relentless adoration — one imagines what Rod Serling would have done with something like this — but this isn’t really that film. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 15 May 2026

More recently, massive desalination plants, which often double as electric power plants, have been dumping hot brine that rapidly sinks, smothering life at the Gulf’s bottom, Riegl says. — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 14 May 2026

Plants grow rapidly in spring, smothering weeds and feeding the soil. — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 9 May 2026