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
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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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stifle
And with creativity and innovation so discouraged, an employee who thrives with an entrepreneurial spirit might feel stifled or frustrated.
—
Julia Sullivan, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
The first debut seasons are often rushed and nerves can stifle the best of them.
—Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025
Consider the type of AI tool that your business needs to succeed, and begin to strategically introduce and layer the technology in a way that feels supportive, not stifling.
—Eyal Lifshitz, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Naltazan grabbed the woman and covered her mouth to stifle her screams, prosecutors said.
—Daniella Segura, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stifle
Julia Sullivan, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
The first debut seasons are often rushed and nerves can stifle the best of them.
—Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025
Consider the type of AI tool that your business needs to succeed, and begin to strategically introduce and layer the technology in a way that feels supportive, not stifling.
—Eyal Lifshitz, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Naltazan grabbed the woman and covered her mouth to stifle her screams, prosecutors said.
—Daniella Segura, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifle
Verb
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This preserves development velocity while preventing the entropy that eventually strangles the innovation vibe coding enables.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Clark helped the Cowboys slow down last year’s rushing champion, Saquon Barkley, in a 24-20 loss at Philadelphia, while Parsons helped the Packers strangle a Detroit Lions offense that was among the NFL’s best last season in a 27-13 victory.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Although Canon had mandated that the Cat's programmability be suppressed, the IAI team nevertheless maintained the ability to compute expressions, which Canon permitted as an extension of the editor metaphor.—
Cameron Kaiser,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
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However, the country's typically strict online censors did not appear to be limiting discussion in the comments—a tactic often used to suppress sensitive or politically awkward narratives.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While Hazel Avenue is a busy street, traffic cannot be heard from inside the house and is muffled in the front yard.—
David Caraccio,
Sacbee.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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Wind and road noise were nicely muted with the top up, and thanks to the 911’s sleek figure and retracting wind deflector—which doesn’t automatically deploy, thankfully—wind noise was impressively muffled at highway pace.—
Peter Nelson,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In the clip, the pair execute the moves to the song’s post-chorus, before a bonnet-wearing Colbert pretends to choke on something, causing Gaga to erupt in laughter.—
Stephen Daw,
Billboard,
10 Sep. 2025
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Luckily, the police department had recently brought in a CPR specialist who taught officers how to save choking children.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In a sight that became more-than-familiar to Boise State fans, Jeanty seemed to be swallowed in the scrum at the line of scrimmage, before bursting out of the side and powering himself into the endzone.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
7 Sep. 2025
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Participants in the treatment group swallowed 28 capsules over two days, each containing gut bacteria from four donors.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The smotherer has been smothered.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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Moody’s second field goal attempt, from 36 yards, got blocked when Julian Love quickly jumped past Matt Hennessy and smothered Moody’s attempt on its ascent.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This is welcome news for a system plagued by various exogenous shocks — including COVID and related frothy valuations, high interest rates and the 2022 market correction, the US electoral cycle, and tariff uncertainty — that have resulted in wide bid-ask spreads repressing deal activity.—
Control Risks,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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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.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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When oxygen can’t attach, red blood cells don’t transport it around the body, effectively suffocating the organs.—
Sara Novak,
Scientific American,
11 Sep. 2025
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Everyone laughs about Laura’s over-protectiveness; her suffocating affection is a joke.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifle. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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