smothering Meaning, Definition & Usage

1. verb envelop completely
   smother; surround.
   
   • smother the meat in gravy
2. verb deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing
   asphyxiate; suffocate; smother.
   
   • Othello smothered Desdemona with a pillow
   • The child suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents had left on the floor
3. verb conceal or hide
   muffle; strangle; stifle; smother; repress.
   
   • smother a yawn
   • muffle one's anger
   • strangle a yawn
4. verb form an impenetrable cover over
   smother.
   
   • the butter cream smothered the cake
5. verb deprive of the oxygen necessary for combustion
   smother; put out.
   
   • smother fires
6. adjective satellite causing difficulty in breathing especially through lack of fresh air and presence of heat
   suffocating; suffocative.
   
   • the choking June dust
   • the smothering soft voices
   • smothering heat
   • the room was suffocating--hot and airless

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