stultify

American  

[stuhl-tuh-fahy] / ˈstʌl təˌfaɪ /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of stultify

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

Example Sentences

The setting needn’t be explicitly Norway, but the stultifying strictures of this middle-class world must be in place for Ibsen’s vision to have its detonating effect.

From Los Angeles Times

For Jews, the stultifying fact to be faced is that antisemitism has nothing to do with Jews.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From 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.

From 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.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• benumb
• deaden
• dull