stultify

[stuhl-tuh-fahy]

verb (used with object)

stultified, stultifying 

1. 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?

   Synonyms: thwart, negate, impede, frustrate, dull, deaden, benumb

2. Law.,  to allege or prove (oneself or another person) to be of unsound mind.

3. Older Use.,  to make, or cause to appear, foolish or ridiculous.

verb (used without object)

stultified, stultifying 

1. to become ineffectual or impaired, especially through frustrating, stifling, or deadening conditions.

   Without an environment of encouragement and creativity, the mind can stultify.

stultify

/ ˈstʌltɪˌfaɪ /

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• stultification noun
• stultifier noun
• stultifyingly adverb
• nonstultification noun
• unstultified adjective
• unstultifying adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stultify¹

First recorded in 1760–70; from Late Latin stultificāre, equivalent to Latin stult(us) “stupid” + -i- -i- + -ficāre -fy

Word History and Origins

Origin of stultify¹

C18: from Latin stultus stupid + facere to make

Example Sentences

Because of the SSA’s stultifying culture, Dudek said, he leaned into his insubordinate streak.

Read more on Salon

There have always been those who found the place, with its pretentious airs, dilatory pacing and stultifying rules of order, a frustrating environment to work in, much less thrive.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Gems include a rant on critics, the assertion that the paragraph, not the sentence, is the basic unit of writing and how writing helped alleviate his stultified misery after a near-death car accident.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The whole point of Trump's second term, this adviser said, is to shake up a stultified system of government.

Read more on BBC

Jess eventually realizes it, after a spree of endless nights spent binging on fun-fun-fun, the girls racing around the lawn in a psychedelics-induced stupor after their stultifying dinners with the men.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• benumb 
• deaden 
• dull