choke (back)

verb

Definition of choke (back)next
as in to stifle
to refrain from openly showing or uttering choked back a sarcastic reply to an insulting question

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for choke (back)
  1. stifle
  2. suppress
  3. swallow
  4. hold back
Verb
  • However, many governments still subsidize the harmful status quo and actively stifle innovation.
    Rose Marcario, TIME, 16 Jan. 2025
  • The Huskies also kept up their stifling defensive effort through the third quarter, though UConn’s less-experienced lineups struggled to limit St. John’s down the stretch.
    Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 16 Jan. 2025
Definition of stifle
Verb
  • Facebook played a major role in the 2020 election and came under fire from Trump and Republicans for allegedly suppressing conservative voices.
    Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 Jan. 2025
  • Some Korean veterans of that war were also involved in suppressing uprisings such as the one in Gwangju.
    Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025
Definition of suppress
Verb
  • And Deion would rather swallow four gallons of humility rather than finance that $8 million himself.
    Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Jan. 2025
  • Technological failures and fires swallow family photos.
    Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2025
Definition of swallow
Verb
  • And while many European leaders have been measured in their response, Canadians have not held back.
    Jim Morris, Chicago Tribune, 12 Jan. 2025
  • Ukrainian defenders are steadfastly holding back the onslaught of the occupiers, inflicting significant losses on them.
    Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
Definition of hold back
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near choke (back)

choke

choke (back)

choked

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Choke (back).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/choke%20%28back%29. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

Word of the Year 2024 | Polarization

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

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 Word Game 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?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
white rubber duck stands out in a row of yellow ducks
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.