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stultify - 4 dictionary results

stul⋅ti⋅fy

  [stuhl-tuh-fahy]
Use stultify in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -fied, -fy⋅ing.
1. to make, or cause to appear, foolish or ridiculous.
2. to render absurdly or wholly futile or ineffectual, esp. by degrading or frustrating means: Menial work can stultify the mind.
3. Law. to allege or prove (oneself or another) to be of unsound mind.
Origin:
1760–70; < LL stultificāre, equiv. to L stult(us) stupid + -i- -i- + -ficāre -fy

Related forms:
stul⋅ti⋅fi⋅ca⋅tion, noun
stul⋅ti⋅fi⋅er, noun
stul⋅ti⋅fy⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
2. cripple, impede, frustrate, hinder, thwart.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To stultify
stul·ti·fy   (stŭl'tə-fī')   
tr.v.   stul·ti·fied, stul·ti·fy·ing, stul·ti·fies
  1. To render useless or ineffectual; cripple.
  2. To cause to appear stupid, inconsistent, or ridiculous.
  3. Law To allege or prove insane and so not legally responsible.

[Late Latin stultificāre, to make foolish : Latin stultus, foolish; see stel- in Indo-European roots + Latin -ficāre, -fy.]
stul'ti·fi·ca'tion (-fĭ-kā'shən) n., stul'ti·fi'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Stultify

Stul"ti*fy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stultified; p. pr. & vb. n. Stultifying.] [L. stultus foolish + -fy.]

1. To make foolish; to make a fool of; as, to stultify one by imposition; to stultify one's self by silly reasoning or conduct. --Burke.

2. To regard as a fool, or as foolish. [R.]

The modern sciolist stultifies all understanding but his own, and that which he conceives like his own. --Hazlitt.

3. (Law) To allege or prove to be of unsound mind, so that the performance of some act may be avoided.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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stultify 
1766, "allege to be of unsound mind" (legal term), from L.L. stultificare "turn into foolishness," from L. stultus "foolish" + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). The first element is cognate with L. stolidus "slow, dull, obtuse" (see stolid). Meaning "cause to appear foolish or absurd" is from 1809.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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