smothery
1
8.4
Too much care or attention that makes someone feel trapped
- adjective
- /ˈsmoʊðəri/
:
sobreprotector
- He appreciated her care, but sometimes her smothery nature became overwhelming.
Examples
-
Her smothery affection made him feel as if he couldn't breathe in the relationship.
-
In time, he'd find someone else who actually thrived on the kind of smothery attention he paid her, who loved it when he stared at her in stricken, lovesick disbelief.
Fiction book (1996) -
After years of smothery attention from his parents, he longed for independence.
Synonyms
12
7.9
Openly showing too much emotion and physical closeness that makes others uncomfortable
is overprotective and makes someone feel emotionally restricted or suffocated
Antonyms
How Smothering
Surface Forms
smothery positive
Morphology
Etymology
Smothery comes from the verb smother and the ending -y, and smother is also used to mean 'to give too much care or attention' that takes away freedom while -y means 'full of'. So smothery describes attention or love that feels too close and makes someone feel trapped.