Smother, v. i.
1. To be suffocated or stifled.
2. To burn slowly, without sufficient air; to smolder.
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Smother, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Smothered; p. pr. & vb. n. Smothering.]
1. To destroy the life of by suffocation; to deprive of the air necessary for life; to cover up closely so as to prevent breathing; to suffocate; as, to smother a child.
2. To affect as by suffocation; to stife; to deprive of air by a thick covering, as of ashes, of smoke, or the like; as, to smother a fire.
3. Hence, to repress the action of; to cover from public view; to suppress; to conceal; as, to smother one's displeasure.
Smother, n.
1. Stifling smoke; thick dust. Shak.
2. A state of suppression. [Obs.] Not to keep their suspicions in smother. Bacon. Smother fly (Zoöl.), an aphid.
Shades of meaning
Fernald lists smother only as an antonym, under burn.
He lists it without comment; the entries above explain its neighbors.