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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2
as in to suppress
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
stifled a yawn
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of stifle
Their stifling second-half defense helped KU improve to 11-3 (2-1 Big 12) entering Saturday’s game at Cincinnati (10-4, 0-3).
Tipoff for the Kansas-Cincinnati game at Fifth Third Arena is 1 p.m. Central Time, with a livestream on ESPN+.
—
Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 11 Jan. 2025
This archetype is essential in a world where assumptions often go unchallenged, stifling creativity and growth.
—Chris Schembra, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2025
Palestinian citizens’ rights For Palestinian citizens of Israel, the heavy-handed police stifling of dissent is nothing new.
—Dina Kraft, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Jan. 2025
Playing against a team that is believed to be interested in his services, Pettersson, an unrestricted free agent this summer, played a stifling game.
—Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for stifle 
Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 11 Jan. 2025
This archetype is essential in a world where assumptions often go unchallenged, stifling creativity and growth.
—Chris Schembra, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2025
Palestinian citizens’ rights For Palestinian citizens of Israel, the heavy-handed police stifling of dissent is nothing new.
—Dina Kraft, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Jan. 2025
Playing against a team that is believed to be interested in his services, Pettersson, an unrestricted free agent this summer, played a stifling game.
—Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for stifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifle
Verb
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In 2022, Kayla, a Maryland resident, was brutally raped, strangled with a phone cord and murdered in Harford County by MS-13 gang member and four-time murderer Walter Javier Martinez.—
Dan Cox,
Baltimore Sun,
15 Jan. 2025
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So if someone is strangled to death in the basement of a florist shop in Staten Island, that is a windfall in terms of keeping reader attention.—
Marco della Cava,
USA TODAY,
14 Jan. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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However, while the snow sometimes muffles the thunder, the lightning can more easily be seen.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA TODAY,
7 Jan. 2025
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His low desk was shoved into the corner furthest from the windows, as if Gussow had wanted to muffle the city’s distractions.—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
27 Dec. 2024
Verb
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An artists’ livelihood lost to flames That same pungent, chemical smell had choked the air just a few miles away as the fire kept racing before dawn on January 8 through west Altadena, sending embers zipping through the air like bullets.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN,
17 Jan. 2025
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Brooks, a 43-year-old Black man, was punched, kicked, choked and manhandled in the Dec. 9 beating at Marcy Correctional Facility north of Utica.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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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
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Though its battlefield progress has been slow and costly, momentum in the war is in Russia’s favor and its onslaught has gradually swallowed up towns and villages, especially in Donetsk.—
Samya Kullab and Yehor Konovalov,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Jan. 2025
Verb
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So not counting out the Rams, but Philadelphia just has so many ways to beat you, and that Eagles defense is smothering.—
Sam Farmer,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Jan. 2025
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But can that smothering play hold up against playoff Patrick Mahomes (who had his best performance of the season in Week 17)?—
Hannah Vanbiber,
The Athletic,
14 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Tim starts out middle class, conservative, repressed in his sexuality, and his habit of drinking milk represents those values, Nyswaner says.—
Allison P. Davis,
Vulture,
27 Dec. 2024
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The sanctions, primarily levied by Western countries,aimed to curb the Syrian regime’s ability to fund its military operations and repress dissent, and force it to the negotiating table.—
Karam Shaar,
Foreign Affairs,
20 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Authorities say that the night before, New Year’s Eve 2020, Janks, then 36, drugged Merriman with pain and sleeping pills before fatally suffocating him.—
Liam Quinn,
People.com,
12 Jan. 2025
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Even with Heat star Jimmy Butler serving the second game of his seven-game suspension, the Heat’s defense was suffocating through three quarters.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Stifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifle. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
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