stifles

verb

present tense third-person singular of stifle
1
as in strangles
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 suppresses
to refrain from openly showing or uttering stifled a yawn

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in muffles
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 stifles Industry consensus has long held that rigorous ESG compliance naturally stifles speed-to-market. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 12 Aug. 2026 Attorneys general, including California’s Rob Bonta, allege that the transaction stifles competition across wide-release theatrical film distribution, big-budget blockbusters, and basic cable television channel licensing. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026 Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told reporters at a military testing range in Michigan that the effort will cut months and sometimes years of the red tape that typically stifles military contractors. — ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026 The high pressure also stifles the sea breeze that can bring cooler ocean air onto land. — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2026 Landscape fabric acts as a barrier that stifles this living, dynamic process. — Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 July 2026 In a Knight Foundation study, 56% of students reported believing that social media stifles free expression due to fear of being attacked. — Ravi Iyer, Time, 18 July 2026 Vicki Phillips challenges the notion that AI inherently stifles creativity. — Vicki Phillips, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026 That stifles competition at home and, with China’s dependence on global consumption, raises concerns about dumping and deflation abroad. — Diane Brady, Fortune, 14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifles
  1. strangles
  2. suppresses
  3. muffles
  4. chokes
  5. swallows
  6. smothers
  7. represses
  8. suffocates
Verb
  • Adler said studies show that when one partner strangles another, the likelihood of a victim being killed by that partner goes up 750%.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 28 July 2026
  • By the end of the show, Daya’s addiction has turned her into the prison’s drug lord, and her mother strangles her during the series finale.
    — Gwen Ihnat, Entertainment Weekly, 11 July 2026
Definition of strangles
Verb
  • Warming suppresses upwelling — which normally allows colder, deeper and nutrient-rich ocean water to rise closer to the surface.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Testosterone therapy suppresses the body's production of sperm and, in some cases, can lead to permanent infertility.
    — Will Stone, NPR, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of suppresses
Verb
  • Although the snow sometimes muffles the thunder, the lightning can be seen, said meteorologist Grant Gilmore, formerly of WFMY-TV in Greensboro, North Carolina.
    — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 25 Nov. 2025
Definition of muffles
Verb
  • One boy loops his arm around the student’s neck and chokes him.
    — Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 24 July 2026
  • Remove chokes from artichokes and steam in small amount of water for 15 minutes, adding water to pan as needed.
    — Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026
Definition of chokes
Verb
  • Yancy falls to the ground, and the hallway effectively swallows him up, leaving him heartbroken and alone.
    — Barry Levitt, Time, 23 July 2026
  • There also tends to be an excess of fabric to accommodate differing torso lengths, which swallows my 5-foot-2 frame.
    — Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 21 July 2026
Definition of swallows
Verb
  • The writing — and its sometimes baffling aversion to the source material — is at the heart of the problem, but there’s plenty of blame to go around, from hammy acting to a cartoonish tone that smothers the whole affair.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Up in the attic, a melty miasma smothers the thick winter coats, which hurt me to even look at.
    — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 15 June 2026
Definition of smothers
Verb
  • Typically, bees stop laying eggs during the winter, or at least slow down activity, which represses mite activity.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2026
  • The portrait of a woman who represses and conceals a rape struck a chord as the #MeToo movement took off and put Trobisch on the map.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
Definition of represses
Verb
  • Landscape fabric suffocates microorganisms, blocks nutrients, and degrades into microplastics.
    — Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 July 2026
  • The pure, post-Bee Gees charisma Bellamy mustered in the 2000s seems to have vacated him entirely, and the song’s funkiness suffocates under the flatness of his delivery.
    — Liam Inscoe-Jones, Pitchfork, 1 July 2026
Definition of suffocates

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Cite this Entry

“Stifles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifles. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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