Stultify
/ˈstʌltɪfaɪ/noun
To cause someone or something to appear foolish, or to make something ineffective or stagnant.
Did you know?Stultify entered English through Latin legal and scholarly usage, where it could mean not just “make foolish” but also “invalidate” or “render useless,” as if foolishness itself were a kind of binding spell.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
stultus
“foolish, stupid”
Late Latin
Latin
stultificare
“to make foolish”
17th Century
English
stultify
“to make foolish; to make appear ridiculous or useless”
Modern English
English
stultify
“to cause to appear foolish, or to make ineffective or stagnant”
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