smothered 1 of 2

adjective

1
as in choked

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2
as in muted

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smothered

2 of 2

verb

past tense of smother
1
as in strangled
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stifled
to refrain from openly showing or uttering he quickly smothered his inappropriate laughter at the funeral ceremony

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in buried
to defeat by a large margin the soccer team smothered their first few opponents in the championships, but lost narrowly in the final round

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of smothered
Adjective
Outside of smothered biscuit sandwiches, District Biskuits also sells mac and cheese, chicken tenders with various dipping sauces, waffle fries and other sides. — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026 Breakfast is a treat, with made-from-scratch English muffins and housemade jams, plus heartier items like a smothered breakfast burrito. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026 Otherwise, Rhoda picks the red rice; Laurence and Oscar pick the hoppin’ John; Anthony and Brittany pick collard greens; Duyen and Brandon pick the smothered cabbage; Justin and Sherry pick potato salad; and Jonathan and Jennifer pick the hoecakes. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026 Robust, malty, and melt-in-your-mouth tender, this smothered cabbage recipe will warm your soul and delight your tastebuds. — Pableaux Johnson, Southern Living, 25 Nov. 2025 The smothered steak biscuit is available to order in-store and online through January 2026, a Bojangles spokesperson told CharlotteFive. — Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 7 Nov. 2025
Verb
One jumper is famous for having smothered miles of flames with his jacket; in Alaska, jumpers have used spruce boughs and burlap bags filled with moss. — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 When the restaurant itself opens, diners can also expect to see Giancarlo’s take on his grandmother’s spaghetti & blue crab, smothered in Sunday gravy and spaghetti tossed in the same sauce, topped with fresh basil. — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 28 Aug. 2026 Open for breakfast and lunch, the eatery sticks largely to the classics—think omelets, pancakes, eggs Benedict, and plenty of biscuits, best enjoyed smothered in gravy, of course. — Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2026 While Gasper torched the Marlins at the plate, Payton Tolle smothered the Fish from the mound, at least for a while. — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 26 Aug. 2026 Glazed baby back ribs, satisfyingly sticky and spiced with gochujang, come smothered with melting mozzarella for crazy long cheese pulls on Chicago-style, falling-off-the-bone pork. — Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026 Fans of everything smothered, covered, and chunked in metro Atlanta have the chance to try out a potentially new item on Waffle House's menu. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026 The students were smart, curious and desperate to escape a communist system that had smothered their families’ ambitions for decades. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026 Soldiers marched the victims to bomb craters at Kamianets-Podilskyi and turned machine guns on them; they were either shot or smothered. — Usa Today, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smothered
  1. choked
  2. muted
  3. strangled
  4. stifled
  5. buried
  6. extinguished
  7. weak
  8. drowned
Adjective
  • The western island of South Sumatra also battled fires, with more than 1,700 hot spots detected on Sunday, causing a choked haze cloud and reducing visibility to only 10 meters (33 feet) in some areas, the ministry said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • However, that deal fell apart after the US unleashed a fresh wave of attacks on Iran in mid-July, following Iranian strikes on vessels in the choked Strait of Hormuz.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 24 July 2026
Definition of choked
Adjective
  • Overnight, the British market's reaction to Keir Starmer's resignation remained relatively muted.
    — , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Featuring warm neutrals, earthy tones, muted pinks, clay hues, and airy blues, the palette includes shades inspired by nature—from sandy beaches to golden autumn leaves.
    — Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of muted
Verb
  • Prosecutors allege Clancy planned the killings by sending her husband to pick up takeout food and medicine, then, while he was gone, strangled the children with exercise bands.
    — Melina Khan, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Over the course of the trial, Clancy’s attorney, the redoubtable Kevin Reddington, repeatedly acknowledged that his client strangled her children in the basement of her home on January 24, 2023, while her then husband was out running errands.
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of strangled
Verb
  • That has stifled storm chances and ripped apart storms like Dolly.
    — Chris Dolce, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
  • This debate has been fiercely stifled by current politicians, including Sanae Takaichi—who is, ironically, the first female prime minister in Japanese history.
    — Séraphine Roger, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of stifled
Verb
  • Four-month-old Maytie Raker was buried in 1906 without a grave marker.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • More than 600 people have been killed, homes buried to the ground and entire villages washed away in the aftermath.
    — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of buried
Adjective
  • By the time volunteer firefighters from nearby Cachagua arrived, McCord estimated that the fire was about 70% extinguished.
    — Lucy Hodgman, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 Mar. 2026
  • That conditional pick, acquired in August’s salary dump of Haywood Highsmith, effectively has become extinguished.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2026
Definition of extinguished
Adjective
  • Many African economies are in a much weaker economic position compared to the strong 2015-2016 El Niño, the IIF report said, largely due to higher oil prices, which have driven up transport costs, and a strong US dollar.
    — Paige Bruton, semafor.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Too much nitrogen in the spring creates a weak root system that isn’t able to withstand the heat and drought in summer.
    — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of weak
Verb
  • Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who drowned her five children in their bathtub in 2001, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in a 2006 retrial.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Another teen drowned early in the season, on May 18, in Lake Michigan waters.
    — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of drowned

Browse Nearby Words

smother
smothered
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Cite this Entry

“Smothered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smothered. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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