kill by squeezing the throat of so as to cut off the air; "he tried to strangle his opponent"; "A man in Boston has been strangling several dozen prostitutes"
put down by force or intimidation; "The government quashes any attempt of an uprising"; "China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently"; "The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land"
conceal or hide; "smother a yawn"; "muffle one's anger"; "strangle a yawn"
envelop completely; "smother the meat in gravy"
deprive of the oxygen necessary for combustion; "smother fires"
deprive of oxygen and prevent from breathing; "Othello smothered Desdemona with a pillow"; "The child suffocated herself with a plastic bag that the parents had left on the floor"
form an impenetrable cover over; "the butter cream smothered the cake"
marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful; "a humble apology"; "essentially humble...and self-effacing, he achieved the highest formal honors and distinctions"- B.K.Malinowski
used of unskilled work (especially domestic work)
low or inferior in station or quality; "a humble cottage"; "a lowly parish priest"; "a modest man of the people"; "small beginnings"
cause to be unpretentious; "This experience will humble him"