stultify
Use Stultify in a sentence
təˌfaɪ verb (used with object), stul·ti·fied, stul·ti·fy·ing.
1.
to make, or cause to appear, foolish or ridiculous.
2.
to render absurdly or wholly futile or ineffectual, especially 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; < Late Latin stultificāre, equivalent to Latin stult(us) stupid + -i- -i- + -ficāre -fy
1760–70; < Late Latin stultificāre, equivalent to Latin 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
non·stul·ti·fi·ca·tion, noun
un·stul·ti·fied, adjective
Synonyms
2. cripple, impede, frustrate, hinder, thwart.
2. cripple, impede, frustrate, hinder, thwart.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To stultify
00:10
Stultify
is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
stultify (ˈstʌltɪˌfaɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , -fies, -fying, -fied | |
| 1. | to make useless, futile, or ineffectual, esp by routine |
| 2. | to cause to appear absurd or inconsistent |
| 3. | to prove (someone) to be of unsound mind and thus not legally responsible |
| [C18: from Latin stultus stupid + facere to make] | |
| stultifi'cation | |
| —n | |
| 'stultifier | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The surest way to stultify the advance of human knowledge is to put arbitrary limits on it.
They will not stultify themselves by voting against their convictions.
The public must either admire, or else consent to stultify itself by not admiring.
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