Meaning & use
smothering
Covering thickly or suffocatingly, or excessively controlling in a way that feels overwhelming.
See it in a sentence
She found her mother's smothering concern exhausting during her first year at college.
A smothering blanket of fog settled over the harbor by early evening.
A note on using this word
Smothering often describes emotional overprotectiveness, not just physical covering, as in smothering attention or smothering love.
Words with a similar meaning
suffocatingoverprotective
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. verb
To cover thickly, or to prevent someone from breathing by covering their mouth and nose.
He smothered the campfire with sand before leaving the site.
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