stultify: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Formal
Quick answer
What does “stultify” mean?
To cause someone or something to appear foolish, absurd, or ineffective.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
To cause someone or something to appear foolish, absurd, or ineffective; to render useless or worthless.
To cause to lose enthusiasm, initiative, or the ability to think clearly through tedious, repetitive, or overly rigid conditions.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or usage. Slightly more common in British academic/professional writing.
Connotations
Equally negative in both varieties, implying intellectual or creative suffocation.
Frequency
Low frequency in both, but marginally higher occurrence in UK English corpus data.
Grammar
How to Use “stultify” in a Sentence
[subject] stultifies [object][object] is stultified by [subject]Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “stultify” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The endless paperwork began to stultify the team's morale.
- His contradictory evidence stultified his own defence.
American English
- Bureaucratic red tape can stultify any attempt at reform.
- The ruling stultifies the original intent of the law.
adverb
British English
- The meeting droned on stultifyingly for three hours.
American English
- The process moved stultifyingly slowly through the committee.
adjective
British English
- He left the stultifying meeting for some fresh air.
- The stultifying heat made work impossible.
American English
- She escaped the stultifying environment of her hometown.
- The stultifying regulations hurt small businesses.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
'The company's archaic hierarchy served to stultify innovation.'
Academic
'Purely rote learning can stultify a student's critical faculties.'
Everyday
'I need a new job; the monotony is stultifying.'
Technical
(Rare) In logic, 'to stultify an argument' means to render it self-defeating.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “stultify”
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “stultify”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “stultify”
- Using it as a synonym for simple 'boring' (it's stronger, implying active impairment).
- Confusing it with 'stultify' (noun) – the noun is 'stultification'.
- Incorrect: 'The movie was stultify.' Correct: 'The movie was stultifying.'
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The noun form is 'stultification'.
No, it is exclusively negative, describing a process of making something ineffective, dull, or absurd.
No, it is a formal word, most commonly found in written English, particularly in academic, critical, or professional contexts.
'Bore' describes causing disinterest. 'Stultify' is stronger, implying that boredom or rigid conditions actively *impair* one's abilities or enthusiasm.
To cause someone or something to appear foolish, absurd, or ineffective.
Stultify is usually formal in register.
Stultify: in British English it is pronounced /ˈstʌltɪfaɪ/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈstʌltəˌfaɪ/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “A stultifying atmosphere”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: STU(LT)IFY sounds like 'STUFF to lie' – if you're forced to do pointless stuff, it makes your potential lie dormant.
Conceptual Metaphor
INTELLECT/ENERGY IS A LIVING ORGANISM (that can be suffocated or paralyzed).
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'stultify' used most appropriately?