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
as in close
lacking fresh air
the lecture hall was stifling until we opened several windows
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1
as in strangling
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 suppressing
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
stifled a yawn
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in muffling
to deaden the sound of
he stifled a cough with his hand
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stifle
Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Aug. 2025
District 1 has a large population of minority voters, Harris said, whose voices would be stifled.
—Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 2 Jan. 2025
Oregon, on the other hand, struggled to sustain drives, scoring only once before the half and failing to get much going against Ohio State’s stifling defense.
—Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stifle
Verb
The Democrats' efforts to stifle this tremendous progress are par for the course for the Defund the Police, Criminals-First Democrat Party.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Aug. 2025
District 1 has a large population of minority voters, Harris said, whose voices would be stifled.
—Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
Some are now fearful Republicans are beginning to try to weaponize that small-dollar model against them, further stifling their ascent.
—Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 2 Jan. 2025
Oregon, on the other hand, struggled to sustain drives, scoring only once before the half and failing to get much going against Ohio State’s stifling defense.
—Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifle
Adjective
-
The likelihood of lightning increases as a thunderstorm gets closer and reaches its highest point when the storm is directly overhead.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Some health statistics for Davidson County appear strong, but a closer look reveals key health disparities, Areola said.—
Beth Warren,
The Tennessean,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The suffocating Benz pushed the lifelong asthmatic to the edge.—
Sam Bloch
August 8,
Literary Hub,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Examples of the more suffocating atmosphere abound.—
Joshua Yaffa,
Foreign Affairs,
20 Apr. 2015
Adjective
-
Her palette was extremely clean and very refined, a lot of it was architectural, but didn't feel too stuffy.—
Rachel Elspeth Gross,
Forbes.com,
20 July 2025
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While many fragrance houses feel unapproachable—too old, too stuffy, too expensive—Tom Ford’s have a personableness to them.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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Moore sprinted down the field in celebration of his game-saving play with 29 seconds left that gave UCLA an unexpectedly breathless 27-20 victory.—
Ben Bolch,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Nov. 2024
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Jerry Coyne has a post up which critiques an extremely breathless review of a new book, Epigenetics Revolution.—
Razib Khan,
Discover Magazine,
24 Aug. 2011
Cite this Entry
“Stifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifle. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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