feeling smothered

Meanings

1. 1phrase

   having the unpleasant sense that someone is giving you too much attention or control and not leaving you free.

   Grammar: Used after be, feel, or start; often followed by by: feeling smothered by a partner.

   Patterns

   • feeling smothered by someone
   • feeling smothered in a relationship
   • start feeling smothered

   After a few months, he began feeling smothered by her constant calls and messages.

   Some teenagers feel smothered when their parents check everything they do.

   She loved him but could not stop feeling smothered in the relationship.

2. 2phrase

   suffocating or struggling to breathe because something is covering your nose and mouth.

   Grammar: This is the literal physical sense; it is less common than the emotional one.

   Patterns

   • feeling smothered by smoke
   • feeling smothered under a blanket

   The child woke up feeling smothered under the heavy blanket.

   Firefighters described feeling smothered by the thick smoke.

Common combinations

feeling smothered by

He is feeling smothered by all the attention.

feeling smothered in a relationship

Many people feel smothered in a relationship that moves too fast.

start feeling smothered

She started feeling smothered when he moved in.

Synonyms and how they differ

stifled

Stifled suggests being held back from expressing yourself; feeling smothered is more about too much closeness or control.

crowded

Crowded is about physical space; feeling smothered is usually emotional.

suffocated

Suffocated is often literal (not enough air); feeling smothered can be figurative.

Opposites

Word family

smother verb

To cover someone or something completely, or to give too much attention.

smothering adjective

Giving so much care or control that it feels too much.

Commonly confused: feeling smothered or suffocating?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “feeling smothered”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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