stultify

stul·ti·fy  (stlt-f)

tr.v. stul·ti·fied, stul·ti·fy·ing, stul·ti·fies

1. To render useless or ineffectual; cripple.

2. To cause to appear stupid, inconsistent, or ridiculous.

3. Law To allege or prove insane and so not legally responsible.

---

[Late Latin stultificre, to make foolish : Latin stultus, foolish; see stel- in Indo-European roots + Latin -ficre, -fy.]

---

stulti·fi·cation (-f-kshn) n.

stulti·fier n.

---

stultify

Verb

[-fies, -fying, -fied] to dull (the mind) by boring routine [Latin stultus stupid + facere to make]

stultifying adj

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	stultify - prove to be of unsound mind or demonstrate someone's incompetence; "nobody is legally allowed to stultify himself" law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" shew, show, demonstrate, prove, establish - establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment; "The experiment demonstrated the instability of the compound"; "The mathematician showed the validity of the conjecture"
	2.	stultify - cause to appear foolish; "He stultified himself by contradicting himself and being inconsistent" blackguard, guy, jest at, laugh at, make fun, poke fun, ridicule, roast, rib - subject to laughter or ridicule; "The satirists ridiculed the plans for a new opera house"; "The students poked fun at the inexperienced teacher"; "His former students roasted the professor at his 60th birthday"
	3.	stultify - deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless; "This measure crippled our efforts"; "Their behavior stultified the boss's hard work" cripple weaken - lessen the strength of; "The fever weakened his body"