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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2
as in to suppress
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
stifled a yawn
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stifle
Still, scoring wasn’t entirely stifled in Shanghai.
—
Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, opponents of book limitations argue that restrictions harm intellectual rigor, stifle curiosity and impose certain views on others who may not hold them.
—Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 9 Oct. 2025
But there also has been caution among the studios over any law that may stifle the growth of AI, a technology that holds the promise of greatly reducing out-of-control production costs.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
Europe has traditionally held one of the strongest tech regulation frameworks globally, which critics say has stifled innovation.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stifle
Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, opponents of book limitations argue that restrictions harm intellectual rigor, stifle curiosity and impose certain views on others who may not hold them.
—Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 9 Oct. 2025
But there also has been caution among the studios over any law that may stifle the growth of AI, a technology that holds the promise of greatly reducing out-of-control production costs.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
Europe has traditionally held one of the strongest tech regulation frameworks globally, which critics say has stifled innovation.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifle
Verb
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He was sentenced to die in 1983 for raping and strangling a woman in Newberry County and stealing her jewelry, according to court records.—
Greg Norman,
FOXNews.com,
11 Oct. 2025
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In March 1977, Rader strangled Shirley Vian, followed by Nancy Fox that December.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Secret Commonwealth is the condemnation of a world where imagination—not making things up, but a way of seeing, understanding, feeling the world—is suppressed by the dual forces of cold rationality and religious fundamentalisms that breed authoritarianism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
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That power is often used to unfairly influence elections through massive campaign donations, to interfere with independent journalism by buying media outlets, and to suppress competition in markets.—
Scott Ellis,
Time,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The audio is muffled and at times difficult to discern.—
Lucien Bruggeman,
ABC News,
14 Oct. 2025
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The summer noise of saplings and shrubs and bug nests and grass and flowers had been muffled by the snow.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the quiet of the Sabbath morning when all the neighborhood was wrapped in slumber, some dastardly degenerate crept into the room, choked her to death, assaulted her criminally and left her bruised and bleeding body lying on the bed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
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In Lansing, Michigan, a group of friends around a late-night campfire spotted another raccoon in distress — this one choking.—
Ronnie Li,
USA Today,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Live little fish on our tongues and swallowing them.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
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Especially with the roof closed, the seats swallow you up.—
Joe Kozlowski,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And Mac Jones is out in San Francisco, reminding everyone what confidence and a great teacher can look like together, when they’re not smothered by dysfunction.—
Dianna Russini,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
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On the table next to Captain Purdie’s bunk is what looks like a copper coin, a fringe of glutinous seaweed smothering it to the surface of the wood.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Critics, though, have argued that these efforts are serving to distract from the country’s record of repressing free speech and dissent, as well as human rights violations, which have been widely reported.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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If the past offers any guide, however, Havana will instead continue to rely on its formidable security apparatus to repress is citizens, while privatizing in ways that do not threaten the power and privileges of the elite.—
Joseph J. Gonzalez,
The Conversation,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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What these two actors take on is undeniably brave, even as the movie tilts toward becoming suffocating, which is intentional.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
15 Oct. 2025
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Mainstream rap nowadays is suffocating from meaningless rivalries, subliminal shots for stans to decode and misinterpret, and redundant talk of who’s really in the streets and who’s snitching.—
Mosi Reeves,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifle. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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