Main Entry: ²stifle

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): sti·fled; sti·fling \-f(ə-)liŋ\

Etymology: alteration of Middle English stuflen

Date: 1513

transitive verb 1 a : to kill by depriving of oxygen : suffocate b (1) : smother (2) : muffle
2 a : to cut off (as the voice or breath) b : to withhold from circulation or expression : repress <stifled our anger> c : deter, discourageintransitive verb : to become suffocated by or as if by lack of oxygen : smother <stifling in the heat>

— sti·fler \-f(ə-)lər\ noun

— sti·fling·ly \-f(ə-)liŋ-lē\ adverb