stultify

[stuhl-tuh-fahy]

verb (used with object), stul·ti·fied, stul·ti·fy·ing.

to make, or cause to appear, foolish or ridiculous.
to render absurdly or wholly futile or ineffectual, especially by degrading or frustrating means: Menial work can stultify the mind.
Law. to allege or prove (oneself or another) to be of unsound mind.

Origin of stultify

1760–70; < Late Latin stultificāre, equivalent to Latin stult(us) stupid + -i- -i- + -ficāre -fy

Related formsstul·ti·fi·ca·tion, nounstul·ti·fi·er, nounstul·ti·fy·ing·ly, adverbnon·stul·ti·fi·ca·tion, nounun·stul·ti·fied, adjectiveun·stul·ti·fy·ing, adjective

Synonyms for stultify

2. cripple, impede, frustrate, hinder, thwart.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for stultified

mock, hinder, prevent, smother, cripple, suffocate, negate, stifle, nullify, impair, inhibit, ridiculous

Examples from the Web for stultified

Historical Examples of stultified

With the coming of Christianity this science, as well as all others, was stultified.
The Necessity of Atheism
Dr. D.M. Brooks
More than that,” said Rooney, with decision; “he must be stultified.
Red Rooney
R.M. Ballantyne
He had the feeling that her individuality had been stultified.
The Scarecrow and Other Stories
G. Ranger Wormser
They are stultified thought products; they do not really exist.
The Second Fiddle
Phyllis Bottome
He hurried along filled with a lust that stultified his brain and will.
Marching Men
Sherwood Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for stultified

stultify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)

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

Derived Formsstultification, nounstultifier, noun

Word Origin for stultify

C18: from Latin stultus stupid + facere to make

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

Word Origin and History for stultified

stultify

1766, "allege to be of unsound mind" (legal term), from Late Latin stultificare "turn into foolishness," from Latin stultus "foolish" + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). The first element is cognate with Latin stolidus "slow, dull, obtuse" (see stolid). Meaning "cause to appear foolish or absurd" is from 1809.