SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
stultify
verb
To make something ineffective or appear foolish; to inhibit its development.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Make ineffective or inhibit
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topStultify often describes the dulling or disabling effect of a rule or environment. Paralyze is stronger and suggests near-total inability to act.
Make appear foolish
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topIn this sense, stultify damages someone's apparent sense or competence. Ridicule actively mocks, while belittle reduces apparent importance.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See stultify in use
Endless approval steps can stultify an otherwise promising project.
A rule forbidding any change after the first draft would stultify the students' work by preventing them from correcting the problems they discovered.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license