stifle

verb

ˈstī-fəl How to pronounce stifle (audio)
Definition of stiflenext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to suppress
to refrain from openly showing or uttering stifled a yawn

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to muffle
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 stifle The Canal+ Group’s shuttering of the Showmax streaming service earlier this year was just the latest example of how a distribution chokepoint is stifling Africa’s creative boom. — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026 As for whether the report helps prompt change or becomes yet another weighty academic doorstop, that remains to be seen at City Hall, where entrenched political power often combines with bureaucratic inertia to stifle innovation. — A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026 Those games were against three of the NFL’s top defenses, including the defending-champion Seattle Seahawks, who similarly stifled Maye and the Patriots in Super Bowl LX. — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 13 Oct. 2026 Perhaps her biggest challenge is combating the misconception that cystic fibrosis has been cured, which stifles investment into new treatments. — Gerry Smith, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifle
  1. strangle
  2. suppress
  3. muffle
  4. choke
  5. swallow
  6. smother
  7. repress
  8. suffocate
Verb
  • In a counter claim, Xuan accused Diaz of being drunk at work and trying to strangle him.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The latest slate of attacks is strangling a recovery in movement throughout the strait that had been building for weeks.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of strangle
Verb
  • Optional filters can be slotted in each module (when available) to suppress city lighting, adjust for solar imagery, and cater for different wavelengths.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026
  • But Uthmeier contends an overly broad reading of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause has been twisted into a tool to suppress Christians and other believers.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of suppress
Verb
  • The sullen tribute to Payne settled the room into a cool near-silence, punctured by quiet gasps and muffled crying.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2026
  • After two hours of practice, with the 10-foot-tall fences doing little to muffle the bullhorn orders and corresponding groans, the huddle broke and the personalities sprung to life.
    — Noah White, Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of muffle
Verb
  • Bill Snyder’s second-greatest football achievement as Kansas State’s legendary head coach, after magically transforming the nation’s most moribund program into a national contender, was to choke the life from his school’s biggest rivalry game.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Among those arrested were individuals accused of choking their partners and assaulting their children, the sheriff’s office said.
    — Tanya Babbar, Houston Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of choke
Verb
  • Before he was swallowed by one in Whalefall, Austin Abrams flew to Dominica to see a sperm whale up close.
    — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 18 Oct. 2026
  • However, Penn State's attempt at an onside kick was swallowed up by the Wolverines, and that was it.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of swallow
Verb
  • Investigators determined that Blake also had blunt-force injuries and signs of smothering.
    — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Their pursuit of a three-peat has been smothered by the Brewers’ own version of a three-peat, and nearly all hope is lost.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of smother
Verb
  • This amazing energy, the vitality, simply could not be repressed.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The competition is adjudicated in the basal ganglia, structures deep inside the brain that repress all the plans except one.
    — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of repress
Verb
  • The combination of Chance downing teams inside the 10-yard line combined with a suffocating defense could be a recipe for success for TCU in the final half of the season.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Ohio State could still beat USC on the road, even with a backup, considering the Trojans' struggles to win big games under Riley and their suffocating defense.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of suffocate

Browse Nearby Words

stiffs
stifle
stifled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifle. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All