Words / C2

STULT-if-eye/ˈstʌltɪfaɪ/

To stultify is to make a person or process seem foolish, or to drain it of energy and use (formal): stultify debate, a stultifying routine. Stifle is everyday-ish; stymie (already in the dictionary) is to block progress, not to make it look absurd. Nullify (already in the dictionary) cancels legal or practical effect. Do not stultify an appendix with a slogan and no n.

Meaning

To make someone or something seem foolish, or to drain it of energy and usefulness (formal).

Examples

• “Do not stultify the appendix with a slogan and no n.”
• “Stifle is close. Stymie is to block (already in C2). Nullify is to void (already in C2). A long methods clause can still be exact. Decoration that empties the cell makes the paper look foolish. Fill the n; then the prose can live.”

Good to know

Make futile or look foolish. Everyday: stifle / make pointless. Contrast: stymie (block — already in C2); nullify (void — already in C2). A slogan is not a cell.

Near in meaning

stifle

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