stultify

/ˌstʌltəˈfaɪ/

Other forms: stultifying; stultified; stultifies

When something stultifies you, it drains you of your energy, enthusiasm, or pleasure. Listening to an hour-long graduation speech on a hot, humid day might stultify you.

The word stultify is sometimes used in place of to "bore" or "exhaust.” An uninspiring boss, too many rules, or a badly performed play can be stultifying. If you hang out in the hot sun all day, the stultifying heat might make you feel limp and listless. Even constant construction noise could stultify a person. To stultify a plan or person is to dampen enthusiasm in a big way.

Definitions of stultify

1. verb

   deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless
   “Their behavior stultified the boss's hard work”

   synonyms: cripple

   type of:

   nerf, weaken

   lessen the strength of
2. verb

   cause to appear foolish
   “He stultified himself by contradicting himself and being inconsistent”

   type of:

   blackguard, guy, jest at, laugh at, make fun, poke fun, rib, ridicule, roast

   subject to laughter or ridicule
3. verb

   prove to be of unsound mind or demonstrate someone's incompetence
   “nobody is legally allowed to stultify himself”

   type of:

   demonstrate, establish, prove, shew, show

   establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment