Standard Lemma guide

smothering

noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • CMU ARPABET: S M AH1 DH ER0 IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act by which someone or something is smothered.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

present participle and gerund of smother

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

causing difficulty in breathing especially through lack of fresh air and presence of heat

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the choking June dust
  • the smothering soft voices
  • smothering heat
  • the room was suffocating--hot and airless

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: suffocating, suffocative

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English smorþering.