stultify
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Related to stultify: stultification
stul·ti·fy
(stŭl′tə-fī′)tr.v. stul·ti·fied, stul·ti·fy·ing, stul·ti·fies
1. To cause to lose interest or feel dull and not alert: The audience was stultified by the speaker's unchanging monotone.
2. To render useless or ineffectual: "[She believed] that the requirements of conventional academic life can stultify imagination, stifle enthusiasm and deaden prose style" (Robert K. Massie).
3. To cause to appear stupid, inconsistent, or ridiculous: "Should he now stultify himself in all those quarrels by admitting he had been cruel, unjust, and needlessly jealous?" (Anthony Trollope).
4. Law To claim incapacity as setting aside or preventing enforcement of (a deed or contract).
[Late Latin stultificāre, to make foolish : Latin stultus, foolish; see stel- in Indo-European roots + Latin -ficāre, -fy.]
stul′ti·fi·ca′tion (-fĭ-kā′shən) n.
stul′ti·fi′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
stultify
(ˈstʌltɪˌfaɪ)vb (tr) , -fies, -fying or -fied
1. to make useless, futile, or ineffectual, esp by routine
2. to cause to appear absurd or inconsistent
3. (Law) to prove (someone) to be of unsound mind and thus not legally responsible
[C18: from Latin stultus stupid + facere to make]
ˌstultifiˈcation n
ˈstultiˌfier n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
stul•ti•fy
(ˈstʌl təˌfaɪ)v.t. -fied, -fy•ing.
1. to make, or cause to appear, foolish or ridiculous.
2. to render futile or ineffectual, esp. by degrading or frustrating means.
3. Law. to allege or prove to be of unsound mind.
[1760–70; < Late Latin stultificāre= Latin stult(us) stupid + -i- -i- + -ficāre -fy]
stul`ti•fi•ca′tion, n.
stul′ti•fi`er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
stultify
Past participle: stultified
Gerund: stultifying
| Imperative |
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| stultify |
| stultify |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Verb | 1. | stultify - prove to be of unsound mind or demonstrate someone's incompetence; "nobody is legally allowed to stultify himself" law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" shew, show, demonstrate, prove, establish - establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment; "The experiment demonstrated the instability of the compound"; "The mathematician showed the validity of the conjecture" |
| 2. | stultify - cause to appear foolish; "He stultified himself by contradicting himself and being inconsistent" | |
| 3. | stultify - deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless; "This measure crippled our efforts"; "Their behavior stultified the boss's hard work" weaken - lessen the strength of; "The fever weakened his body" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
stultify
vt → lähmen; mind, person → verkümmern or verdummen lassen; to become stultified → verkümmern, verdummen
vi → verkümmern, verdummen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995