stifle

verb

ˈstī-fəl How to pronounce stifle (audio)
Definition of stiflenext
1
as in to strangle
to be or cause to be killed by lack of breathable air unfortunately, the robbers were stifled when they got trapped in the airless bank vault

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to suppress
to refrain from openly showing or uttering stifled a yawn

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to muffle
to deaden the sound of he stifled a cough with his hand

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stifle The bill would not stifle innovation with frontier models, Lieu insisted, comparing the bill to car crash testing in the automotive space. — Cj Haddad, CNBC, 6 Aug. 2026 But there have been many stops and starts during the five-month-old conflict that has stifled the global supply of oil and rattled energy markets. — Damian J. Troise, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026 This prompted backlash from critics, who felt that the platforms were stifling free speech or putting their thumb on the scale politically. — Max Tani, semafor.com, 3 Aug. 2026 At one point, a television broadcast showed a player appearing to stifle laughter over the former Martha and the Vandellas frontwoman’s vocal trills during the middle of the performance. — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifle
  1. strangle
  2. suppress
  3. muffle
  4. choke
  5. swallow
  6. smother
  7. repress
  8. suffocate
Verb
  • This has strangled Iran’s cashflow and closed the strait to Iranian maritime trade.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • In May, an 18-year-old freshman reported she was raped and strangled after meeting a man at a fraternity party before returning to her dorm at Tropicana Gardens in Isla Vista.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of strangle
Verb
  • Some studies show that saffron may potentially help suppress appetite and aid in weight loss, reduce the symptoms of PMS and improve libido.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • And the nastiest errors of all, the bit-flips, are suppressed to around one in a million operations.
    — John Koetsier, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of suppress
Verb
  • Now the sound was muffled from the hunters as the dogs passed around a canebrake wall bordered by a dark bayou.
    — Paul Schullery, Outdoor Life, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Designed to muffle the sound of the Imax camera, the blimp was a revelation for Damon.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of muffle
Verb
  • The escalating tally underscores how far the two sides remain from resolving a crisis that has choked the Strait of Hormuz for more than five months.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026
  • More than 50 hectares (124 acres) of peatland have burned in Jambi province on Sumatra island, causing choking haze in some areas and raising concerns about worsening air quality.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of choke
Verb
  • But his parents brought him back two days later, this time with fever, lethargy, a headache, and trouble swallowing.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Nowhere is the gap between noise and signal wider than in the obsession that has swallowed every other story, which is AI.
    — Nigel Morris, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of swallow
Verb
  • The students were smart, curious and desperate to escape a communist system that had smothered their families’ ambitions for decades.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Soldiers marched the victims to bomb craters at Kamianets-Podilskyi and turned machine guns on them; they were either shot or smothered.
    — USA TODAY, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of smother
Verb
  • The chart surge comes after Bring Me the Horizon’s early catalog was recently repressed and reissued on vinyl as part of the band’s anniversary celebration surrounding two decades of Count Your Blessings.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Neil remembers everything, and doesn’t repress it so much as romanticize it, chasing older men who might replicate that feeling.
    — Joshua Encinias, IndieWire, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of repress
Verb
  • Not all avalanche victims die by asphyxiation — injuries from getting hit by a wall of snow or being swept through trees and rocks can kill people even if they’re not buried or suffocated.
    — Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • In a Miami courtroom on Friday morning, a man admitted to suffocating his estranged wife and her two young daughters with a plastic bag nearly 14 years ago.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of suffocate

Browse Nearby Words

stiffs
stifle
stifled
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Cite this Entry

“Stifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifle. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of stifle for Spanish Speakers

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