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to smother
01
to cover someone or something completely
Transitive: to smother sth
Examples
The flowers were smothered by the heavy snow, hiding them from view.
The garden was smothered by weeds, preventing the flowers from growing.
02
to stop someone or something from breathing by covering or blocking the air
Transitive: to smother sb
Examples
The mother gently placed a blanket over the sleeping baby, being careful not to smother him.
Panic set in as the trapped hiker felt the smoke from the wildfire start to smother him.
03
to stop or prevent a feeling or action from being expressed or shown
Transitive: to smother a feeling or action
Examples
He tried to smother his anger, but it kept bubbling up.
She smothered her excitement to avoid drawing attention.
04
to extinguish a fire by suffocating it, typically by covering it to cut off its oxygen supply
Transitive: to smother a fire
Examples
He used a blanket to smother the small fire in the kitchen.
The firefighters worked quickly to smother the flames before they spread.
05
to overwhelm or restrict someone so much that they feel suffocated or unable to act freely
Transitive: to smother sb
Examples
Her overprotective parents smother her with constant check-ins and restrictions, making her feel trapped.
The intense workload at her job started to smother her, leaving her no time for herself.
Lexical Tree
smothered
smothering
smother
