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
President Harris is one where American manufacturing continues to deteriorate, stifling electrical vehicle mandates destroy the American auto industry, oil and natural gas restrictions lead to skyrocketing energy prices, and mass spending once again brings crippling inflation.
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Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
The late September air has a bite to it—a welcome chill after a stifling summer.
—Abbey Stone, SELF, 31 Oct. 2024
Instead, headlines have touted the apparent success of the Federal Reserve in engineering a slowdown in the rate of inflation without stifling the economy.
—Greg Petro, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
Why Lockland's new migrants struggle to work The immigrants here face stifling work barriers.
—Terry Demio, The Enquirer, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stifle 
Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
The late September air has a bite to it—a welcome chill after a stifling summer.
—Abbey Stone, SELF, 31 Oct. 2024
Instead, headlines have touted the apparent success of the Federal Reserve in engineering a slowdown in the rate of inflation without stifling the economy.
—Greg Petro, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
Why Lockland's new migrants struggle to work The immigrants here face stifling work barriers.
—Terry Demio, The Enquirer, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifle
Verb
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Jamie Busch allegedly strangled her sister in her home during an altercation between 4:50 p.m. and 11:59 on October 8.Nina Turner, Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024
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She’d been stripped naked and strangled with her own stockings, with a bite mark on her breast.Laura Bradley, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Some voters may view restrictions on electioneering as suppressing their First Amendment rights, Huefner noted.Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024
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The crowd erupted, and Jimmy celebrated behind him, while Jey tried to suppress his laughter.David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The Kims, a family struggling to make ends meet, set their scheming sights on the Parks, a well-to-do family with plenty of problems of their own, but also plenty of money to muffle their dysfunction.Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 29 Oct. 2024
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The Sonos Ace do an excellent job muffling ambient noise on airplanes.Prakhar Khanna, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Armed with that information, off-roading is a lot less likely to be marred by choking, toxic smoke that comes along with dangerous levels of combustion if users know which areas to avoid.Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 14 Nov. 2024
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He is accused of fatally choking 30-year-old Jordan Neely on a New York City subway in 2023.David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Common symptoms include a sore throat from tissue irritation, bad breath caused by thriving bacteria, and sometimes difficulty swallowing, if the stones are big enough.Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 30 Oct. 2024
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Cherished memories — photo albums, family heirlooms, and tokens of love — swallowed by floodwaters and carried miles away, are now reduced to mere fragments and discarded amid the wreckage.Alaa Elassar, CNN, 26 Oct. 2024
Verb
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And just like the album title suggests, that's exactly how our readers order their hashbrowns: scattered, smothered, and covered.Symiah Dorsey, Southern Living, 3 Nov. 2024
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The first points of the game came with 3:21 remaining in the first half thanks to a three-yard touchdown run from Texans running back Joe Mixon, after both defenses smothered their rival offenses to force punts.Ben Morse, CNN, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The protests—the biggest and most violent since the end of the dictatorship—uncapped a well of simmering rage (and were brutally repressed by the Chilean national police).Carolina A. Miranda, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2024
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Same old story: repress human nature too much and disaster follows.Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
Verb
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But don’t suffocate them with overly formal onboarding.Expert Panel®, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
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Run in fear, stamp it underfoot, or poison and suffocate it with insecticide?Salama Udaipurwala, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Stifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifle. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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