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
But rather than breathing a little more life into a group that had begun playing with an already pretty good pulse, his presence mystifyingly stifled it.
—
Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2026
The Loons have struggled with slow starts this season, so the early focus was to stifle everything.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 22 Mar. 2026
But head coach Ryun Williams' team couldn't stifle a rally by the Spartans and fell behind in the second half.
—Jesse Sarles, CBS News, 21 Mar. 2026
The lawsuits make similar arguments that the deal will lead to higher prices for consumers and stifle local journalism.
—Arkansas Online, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stifle
Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2026
The Loons have struggled with slow starts this season, so the early focus was to stifle everything.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 22 Mar. 2026
But head coach Ryun Williams' team couldn't stifle a rally by the Spartans and fell behind in the second half.
—Jesse Sarles, CBS News, 21 Mar. 2026
The lawsuits make similar arguments that the deal will lead to higher prices for consumers and stifle local journalism.
—Arkansas Online, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifle
Verb
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As Grace looks on in horror, her soon-to-be husband strangles Ursula and snaps her neck.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
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At that point, HBM’s killer feature of extreme local bandwidth gets strangled by the comparatively slow links connecting all of these machines.—
Sha Rabii,
Fortune,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Although Nigeria was temporarily suspended from the Commonwealth group of nations, the oil industry continued its operations, and federal governments continued to misappropriate their share of the revenues and violently suppress protests.—
Noo Saro-Wiwa,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
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This structural scaling suppressed unwanted charge trapping and leakage currents, ensuring the chip remains electronically stable even under intense, high-dose gamma exposure.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The sound of a backstage vocal warmup was muffled by thick stage curtains.—
Melanie Asmar,
Denver Post,
20 Mar. 2026
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David’s mother buried her head into her husband’s shoulders, trying to muffle her cries.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The artistic director, Massimiliano Gioni, has for years staged sprawling, mind-bending exhibitions inside a vault that choked them.—
Jerry Saltz,
Curbed,
20 Mar. 2026
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The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war has choked global oil supply.—
Victor Ordonez,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Muddy floodwaters from severe rains inundated streets, pushed homes off their foundations, swallowed vehicles and prompted evacuation orders for thousands of residents in towns north of Honolulu on Friday as officials warned of the possible failure of a 120-year-old dam.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Mar. 2026
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Muddy floodwaters from severe rains inundated streets, pushed homes off their foundations, swallowed vehicles and prompted evacuation orders Friday for thousands of residents in towns north of Honolulu as officials warned of the possible failure of a a 120-year-old dam.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Muddy floodwaters smothered vast stretches of Oahu’s North Shore, a community world-renowned for its big-wave surfing.—
Jennifer Sinco Kelleher,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Mar. 2026
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Muddy floodwaters smothered vast stretches of Oahu's North Shore, a community world-renowned for its big-wave surfing.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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People fed up with rolling blackouts have staged sporadic protests in recent days, banging pots and shouting slogans against the government, rare demonstrations in a country known for repressing dissent.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Mar. 2026
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The White House imposed sanctions on Larijani in January for his role in repressing nationwide protests in the country, which saw thousands killed in the violent government crackdown, rights group say.—
Yarden Segev,
NBC news,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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You’re located near some of the prime tourist spots—just a 10- to 15-minute walk from historic rainbow houses along Nyhavn, Tivoli Gardens Amusement Park, and the Rosenborg castle—but won't feel suffocated by crowds.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Mar. 2026
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According to the testimonies, conditions were extreme — suffocating heat by day and cold at night — with deaths reported.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifle. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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