stultify
pronunciation
How to pronounce stultify in British English:
UK ['stʌltɪfaɪ]
How to pronounce stultify in American English:
US ['stʌltɪfaɪ]
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- Verb:
- prove to be of unsound mind or demonstrate someone's incompetence
- cause to appear foolish
- deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless
Word Origin
- stultify (v.)
- 1766, "allege to be of unsound mind" (legal term), from Late Latin stultificare "turn into foolishness," from Latin stultus "foolish" (literally "uneducated, unmovable," from PIE root *stel- "to put, stand") + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). The first element is cognate with Latin stolidus "slow, dull, obtuse" (see stolid). Meaning "cause to appear foolish or absurd" is from 1809. Hence stultiloquy "foolish talk, silly babbling" (1650s). Related: Stultified; stultifying.