stultify
to render absurdly or wholly futile or ineffectual, especially by degrading or frustrating means: Must we stultify the progress of these reforms with yet more red tape?
Law. to allege or prove (oneself or another person) to be of unsound mind.
Older Use. to make, or cause to appear, foolish or ridiculous.
to become ineffectual or impaired, especially through frustrating, stifling, or deadening conditions: Without an environment of encouragement and creativity, the mind can stultify.
Origin of stultify
1Other words for stultify
Other words from stultify
- stul·ti·fi·ca·tion [stuhl-tuh-fi-key-shuhn], /ˌstʌl tə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən/, noun
- stul·ti·fi·er, noun
- stul·ti·fy·ing·ly, adverb
- non·stul·ti·fi·ca·tion, noun
- un·stul·ti·fied, adjective
- un·stul·ti·fy·ing, adjective
Words Nearby stultify
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use stultify in a sentence
It occurred to him that modern education existed largely to stultify independent thought.
Security | Poul William Anderson"To thank men like Cowan, who did not desire to enfranchise woman any more than the negro, was to stultify ourselves," he said.
The College, the Market, and the Court | Caroline H. DallThe latter has allowed its prejudices and its feelings to obliterate or to stultify its reason.
Islam Her Moral And Spiritual Value | Arthur Glyn LeonardLink-torches, unless of the best pitch-pine (Pinus resinosa), do not burn with sufficient brightness to stultify the pigeons.
The Hunters' Feast | Mayne ReidAs she took a step towards the bridge-tables, Jack felt that he was losing her; yet he would only stultify himself by an apology.
Lady Lilith | Stephen McKenna
British Dictionary definitions for stultify
/ (ˈstʌltɪˌfaɪ) /
to make useless, futile, or ineffectual, esp by routine
to cause to appear absurd or inconsistent
to prove (someone) to be of unsound mind and thus not legally responsible
Origin of stultify
1Derived forms of stultify
- stultification, noun
- stultifier, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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