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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in suppresses
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
stifled a yawn
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in muffles
to deaden the sound of
he stifled a cough with his hand
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
That fear discourages innovation and stifles opportunity.
—
Brad Rencher, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025
In the TikTok video, Ella lies with her arms at her sides and stifles a giggle.
—Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
This stifles innovation as well as open communication.
—Dr. Cynthia J. Young, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Critics say the legislation stifles academic freedoms, strips faculty of due process rights and injects politics into curriculum decisions, possibly threatening programs such as those teaching issues around race and equality.
—Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Aug. 2025
Brad Rencher, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025
In the TikTok video, Ella lies with her arms at her sides and stifles a giggle.
—Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
This stifles innovation as well as open communication.
—Dr. Cynthia J. Young, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Critics say the legislation stifles academic freedoms, strips faculty of due process rights and injects politics into curriculum decisions, possibly threatening programs such as those teaching issues around race and equality.
—Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifles
Verb
-
What worked at ten employees strangles progress at one hundred.—
Brent Gleeson,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
At that point, both Hsiao-Lee’s life and our perspective open up toward something more hopeful, even if plenty of turmoil — including another unbearable scene in which Chiang nearly strangles Chuan to death — continues back home.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
And how a democratic society responds to its leaders can make the difference between a free society and one in which a leader increasingly suppresses the voices, rights and will of the governed.—
Karrin Vasby Anderson,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The partner who suppresses becomes less visible in the relationship.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Hybrid-resilient architecture—local backups that can kick in like muscle memory when the cloud chokes.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
On the ground, there’s a war of grappling, chokes, and limb breaks, and Oliveira is one of the best to ever fight it.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
14 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Taroko Gorge, however, carves breathtaking grandeur from marble stone; a natural cathedral of cliffs, where suspension bridges sway above rapids and swallows dart through narrow canyons.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Neurocysticercosis occurs after a person swallows pork tapeworm eggs, according to the CDC.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
9 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
But outside of the ring, Christy hides and represses her lesbianism and winds up marrying her trainer Jim Martin (Ben Foster), who manipulates and physically abuses her.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Just like particles behave differently when observed, your business suffocates under micromanagement.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Rather than conjuring a mood of bracing inexorability, this linear focus only suffocates what might be an interesting debate, as a man of the modern world weighs his values against those of a woman raised in atavistic isolation.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stifles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifles. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share