1
as in strangles
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stifles
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
he quickly smothered his inappropriate laughter at the funeral ceremony
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in buries
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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smothers
Verb
-
What worked at ten employees strangles progress at one hundred.—
Brent Gleeson,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025 -
At that point, both Hsiao-Lee’s life and our perspective open up toward something more hopeful, even if plenty of turmoil — including another unbearable scene in which Chiang nearly strangles Chuan to death — continues back home.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Or to send any kind of message that stifles his defining disposition.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 Oct. 2025
-
The judge found that Google has been engaging in behavior that stifles competition to the detriment of online publishers that depend on the system for revenue.—
Michael Liedtke,
Fortune,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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There is no dignity, and no justice, in a system that buries an elderly woman alive in silence.—
Kim Aris,
Time,
7 Nov. 2025
-
This buries the block into the sand.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Left to die, breathless and alone, Invisigal chokes while Robert screams from the other end of the comms.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Even the woman Larry falls for, Gwen (Evelyn Ankers), isn't immune to the animal's evil charms, and the creature nearly chokes the life out of her in one scene.—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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When people without schizophrenia speak or prepare to speak, the brain region that plans movements suppresses signals in the auditory cortex.—
Hannah Seo,
Scientific American,
10 Nov. 2025
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The experimental once-weekly drug, eloralintide, belongs to the class of drugs that mimic the pancreatic hormone amylin which slows digestion and suppresses hunger.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Quick and direct, this young adult novel in verse about a closeted Black boy who overcomes fear and shame through the power of poetry reads almost like a journal entry.—
Amber McBride,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Inflatable module overcomes launch constraints Orbital platforms are typically constrained by limitations related to the launch vehicle.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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But for this to work, these supercities must have freedom from the bureaucratic maze that suffocates current development.—
Zoltan Istvan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Just like particles behave differently when observed, your business suffocates under micromanagement.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Every wildfire that takes down a transmission line, every flood that swallows a road, every heatwave that makes a solar farm falter all slow the very systems meant to replace fossil fuels.—
Natalie Unterstell,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025
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Taroko Gorge, however, carves breathtaking grandeur from marble stone; a natural cathedral of cliffs, where suspension bridges sway above rapids and swallows dart through narrow canyons.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Smothers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smothers. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
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