v. [ad. late L. stultificāre, f. stult-us foolish, fool: see -FY.]
1. trans. Law. To allege or prove to be of unsound mind: esp. refl., to allege one’s own insanity in order to evade some responsibility.
1766. Blackstone, Comm., II. xix. 291. It hath been said, that a non compos himself, though he be afterwards brought to a right mind, shall not be permitted to allege his own insanity in order to avoid such grant: for that no man shall be allowed to stultify himself, or plead his own disability.
1861. Kent, Comm. Amer. Law (1873), II. xxxix. 451. The principle … that a man shall not be heard to stultify himself has been properly exploded.
2. To cause to be or appear foolish, ridiculous, or absurdly inconsistent; to reduce to foolishness or absurdity.
1809. Europ. Mag., LV. 19. This able senator … did not … hesitate to tell his majesty’s ministers, that … they had become completely stultified.
1810. Wellington, in Croker Papers, 20 Dec. The licentiousness of the press … [has] gone near to stultify the people of England.
1850. Kingsley, A. Locke, xviii. I, to squash my convictions, to stultify my book for the sake of popularity, money, patronage!
1871. Daily News, 24 Aug., 3/3. This witness, however, stultified himself by admitting that he was too far off to hear what Clement said, and he only saw him gesticulate.
b. To render nugatory, worthless or useless.
1865. Daily Tel., 27 Oct., 4/6. The Bermondsey guardians took upon themselves utterly to ignore and stultify this law.
1888. Miss Braddon, Fatal Three, I. vi. The blind folly of his servants had stultified his efforts.
3. To regard as a fool or as foolish. rare.
1820. Hazlitt, Lect. Lit. Age Eliz., i. (1884), 4. The modern sciolist stultifies all understanding but his own, and that which he conceives like his own.
Hence Stultifying ppl. a. Also Stultifier rare–0, one who stultifies.
1826. Kirby & Sp., Entomol., III. xxx. 173. Affirming most absurdly, and under the most stultifying blindness of mind, that [etc.].
1855. H. Clarke, Dict., Stultifier.
1879. Geo. Eliot, Theo. Such, xviii. 324. A stultifying inconsistency in historical interpretation.
