to suffocate someone's creativity
- idiom
:
sofocar la creatividad de alguien
- A lack of artistic freedom can suffocate someone's creativity, making it hard for artists to express themselves.
Examples
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Micromanaging employees may inadvertently suffocate someone's creativity and reduce workplace satisfaction.
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Rigid rules in the classroom can suffocate someone's creativity and limit innovative thinking.
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Don't suffocate her creativity with too many rules!
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Why do you always suffocate someone's creativity?
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A lack of artistic freedom can suffocate someone's creativity, making it hard for artists to express themselves.
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Rigid rules in the classroom can suffocate someone's creativity and limit innovative thinking.
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Micromanaging employees may inadvertently suffocate someone's creativity and reduce workplace satisfaction.
Synonyms
49
5.3
To hold back a feeling or reaction so it does not show
33
6.7
To limit growth or activity so it cannot continue
2
6.8
Prevent new ideas and methods from growing in a company or group
Antonyms
How Restricted
Surface Forms
Morphology
suffocate + someone's + creativity
The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'suffocate' (to make someone feel restrained or unable to grow) applied to 'creativity' clearly conveys 'stifle or severely restrict imaginative ability.' This metaphorical extension is common and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the component words is likely to understand it.
Etymology
Suffocate someone's creativity uses a simple picture: to suffocate is to stop someone from getting air, and creativity is the flow of new ideas. So when strict rules, constant criticism, or fear 'suffocate' creativity, they stop that flow and make it hard for someone to be creative.