Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb smother

5 senses of smother

Sense 1
smother, surround -- (envelop completely; "smother the meat in gravy")
       => cover -- (provide with a covering or cause to be covered; "cover her face with a handkerchief"; "cover the child with a blanket"; "cover the grave with flowers")

Sense 2
smother, asphyxiate, suffocate -- (deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing; "Othello smothered Desdemona with a pillow"; "The child suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents had left on the floor")
       => kill -- (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig for the holidays")

Sense 3
smother, stifle, strangle, muffle, repress -- (conceal or hide; "smother a yawn"; "muffle one's anger"; "strangle a yawn")
       => suppress, stamp down, inhibit, subdue, conquer, curb -- (to put down by force or authority; "suppress a nascent uprising"; "stamp down on littering"; "conquer one's desires")

Sense 4
smother -- (form an impenetrable cover over; "the butter cream smothered the cake")
       => cover, spread over -- (form a cover over; "The grass covered the grave")

Sense 5
smother, put out -- (deprive of the oxygen necessary for combustion; "smother fires")
       => snuff out, extinguish -- (put an end to; kill; "The Nazis snuffed out the life of many Jewish children")

Antonyms of adj smothered

2 senses of smothered

Sense 1
smothered, stifled, strangled, suppressed -- (held in check with difficulty; "a smothered cough"; "a stifled yawn"; "a strangled scream"; "suppressed laughter")

INDIRECT (VIA inhibited) -> uninhibited -- (not inhibited or restrained; "uninhibited exuberance")

Sense 2
smothered -- (completely covered; "bonnets smothered with flowers"; "smothered chicken is chicken cooked in a seasoned gravy")

INDIRECT (VIA covered) -> bare -- (lacking its natural or customary covering; "a bare hill"; "bare feet")

Similarity of adj smothered

2 senses of smothered

Sense 1
smothered, stifled, strangled, suppressed -- (held in check with difficulty; "a smothered cough"; "a stifled yawn"; "a strangled scream"; "suppressed laughter")
       => inhibited (vs. uninhibited) -- (held back or restrained or prevented; "in certain conditions previously inhibited conditioned reactions can reappear")

Sense 2
smothered -- (completely covered; "bonnets smothered with flowers"; "smothered chicken is chicken cooked in a seasoned gravy")
       => covered (vs. bare) -- (overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form; "women with covered faces"; "covered wagons"; "a covered balcony")