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1
as in strangled
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in swallowed
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
stifled a yawn
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in muffled
to deaden the sound of
he stifled a cough with his hand
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Recent Examples of stifled
Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
Critics said the two security laws have stifled the city's Western-style civil liberties that Beijing had promised to maintain when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
—ABC News, 8 June 2026
Wilson felt stifled and forced a trade to Denver.
—Mike Sando, New York Times, 5 June 2026
However, the more decor displayed in your living room, the more stifled the space will feel.
—Ashlyn Needham, The Spruce, 4 June 2026
The war has stifled the flow of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
—Damian J. Troise, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
And while the state has seen strong GDP growth in recent months, business groups still worry that this economic success could be stifled by limited job growth and economic uncertainty in the wake of federal policy changes.
—P.r. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 17 May 2026
Embarrassed in the first period, stifled in the second, the Avs did something that almost never happens in this town with this team.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 14 May 2026
The Vikings are always well coached under Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who has often stifled Shanahan offenses with his creative blitzes and disguised coverages.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 14 May 2026
Adjective
Literature, in his view, was a susurrus of stifled screams, a missive from the netherworld of the collective imaginary.
—Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Verb
This poor girl no longer has an identity beyond pleasing her male companion, who becomes both stifled by alarmed by this sudden, non-consensual change in personality.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
Critics said the two security laws have stifled the city's Western-style civil liberties that Beijing had promised to maintain when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
—ABC News, 8 June 2026
Wilson felt stifled and forced a trade to Denver.
—Mike Sando, New York Times, 5 June 2026
However, the more decor displayed in your living room, the more stifled the space will feel.
—Ashlyn Needham, The Spruce, 4 June 2026
The war has stifled the flow of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
—Damian J. Troise, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
And while the state has seen strong GDP growth in recent months, business groups still worry that this economic success could be stifled by limited job growth and economic uncertainty in the wake of federal policy changes.
—P.r. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 17 May 2026
Embarrassed in the first period, stifled in the second, the Avs did something that almost never happens in this town with this team.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 14 May 2026
The Vikings are always well coached under Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who has often stifled Shanahan offenses with his creative blitzes and disguised coverages.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifled
Adjective
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General Manager Ken Holland hinted at potentially being done after trading center Phillip Danault for a draft pick in December and acquiring Panarin at a suppressed price in February, though he has been known to under-promise often and, sometimes, over-deliver.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Supervising sound editor Alastair Sirkett told IndieWire that Peter Claffey’s big, former-rugby-player frame really helps that moment sing with suppressed panic.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
An autopsy determined Wilton was strangled, stabbed multiple times and suffered from blunt-force trauma to the head and face.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
15 June 2026
-
Jurors deliberated for a week before voting to convict 48-year-old Francesca Lopez in the death of Felipe Lopez-Custodio, who was clubbed to death with a piece of scrap wood and strangled with a cord inside his apartment on Jacqueline Way in Concord.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
10 June 2026
Verb
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In 2013, a 100-foot-wide sinkhole swallowed entire multi-story residential buildings at Summer Bay Resort in Clermont.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 June 2026
-
The night started with a guarantee, got swallowed by 3-pointers, turned sour at the whistle and somehow ended with the Garden shaking beneath a celebration nobody saw coming.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Everything feels muffled, with such heavy carpeting.—
Olivia Kan-Sperling,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
-
Their replies are muffled by their hands blocking their mouths.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The look of sheer repressed, stymied rage/laughter on Raph’s face when Paul sniffs the Oreos instead is one of the episode’s biggest laughs.—
Tasha Robinson,
Vulture,
16 June 2026
-
Cummings has a wider range to traverse as Arnold, whose repressed rage eventually has to find an outlet.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Pinkas said that before the war, Iran was isolated under sanctions that choked its oil exports, dealing blows to its economy.—
Pamela Avila,
CNN Money,
18 June 2026
-
The woman who survived the rape described in a jury trial how Mystikal, whose real name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, had punched, choked, and forcibly raped her at his home near Baton Rouge, according to local TV station WBRZ.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
Ayari scored twice in the team’s opener against Tunisia but muted his celebrations out of respect for his father’s home country.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 June 2026
-
Without reparative justice, Juneteenth is muted, symbolic, but not transformative.—
Marcus Anthony Hunter,
Time,
19 June 2026
Adjective
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When monitoring wanes and enforcement fades, workers pay the price first in wages and safety, then in silenced voices and must choose between an empty stomach and their rights.—
Tharo Khun,
Sourcing Journal,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stifled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifled. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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