stultify

1. (transitive) To stunt, inhibit (progress, ideas, etc.) or make dull and uninteresting, especially through routine that is overly restrictive or limiting.Examples: "Bureaucracy and over-regulation have stultified the economy."; "From the economic point of view, the concentration of future construction into a dozen or so standard classes should be for the good, provided it is not adhered to too rigidly, and allowed to stultify progress in design and further efforts to improve the efficiency of the steam locomotive, which still remains the simplest and most reliable of machines ever invented by man."; "I for one find the weekly puzzle plenty big enough to satisfy, and, without a good theme, to stultify."Synonyms: inhibit, impair, dulltransitive

2. (transitive, dated) To make useless or worthless.Examples: "His business plan was stultified by new technologies."; "Here was a disaster—her ingenious scheme completely stultified."; "Here is an historical figure whom all men reverence and love, whom some regard as divine; and who was one of us—who lived our life, and taught our doctrine. And now shall we leave him in the hands of his enemies—shall we allow them to stifle and stultify his example?"datedtransitive

3. (transitive, dated) To cause to appear foolish; to deprive of strength; to stupefy.Examples: "The politicians continued to stultify themselves."; "Was the House to stultify itself by agreeing to the opposite principles of these opposed Bills?"; "At breakfast, and while they were packing the few remaining articles, he showed his weariness from the night’s effort so unmistakeably that Tess was on the point of revealing all that had happened; but the reflection that it would anger him, grieve him, stultify him, to know that he had instinctively manifested a fondness for her of which his common-sense did not approve, that his inclination had compromised his dignity when reason slept, again deterred her."Synonyms: humiliatedatedtransitive

4. (transitive, archaic, originally law) To prove to be of unsound mind or demonstrate someone's incompetence.Examples: "And although, as hath been observed, according to the strict rules of law no person is allows to stultify himself, yet it seems that even at law the contracts of idiots and lunaticks, after office found, and the party legally commited, are void […]"archaictransitive