as in to stifle
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
choked back a sarcastic reply to an insulting question
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for choke (back)
Verb
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Academic journals struggled to put out issues, stifled by high printing costs and staff layoffs, scrounging for enough articles to fill their pages and paying subscribers to read them.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026 -
There are those, however, who do not see regulation as a stifling force.—
Francesca Cassidy,
Fortune,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The San Bernardino County Fire Department tested new technology on Monday designed to help suppress fires by using sound waves.—
Joy Benedict,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
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Acknowledge anxiety, sadness or grief with openness, instead of trying to suppress those feelings or fueling them with harsh self-criticism.—
J. David Creswell,
The Conversation,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The agency said metal bristles can break off, stick to grill grates and be swallowed, potentially lodging in the throat or digestive tract and causing internal injuries.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
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In Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 film Modern Times, a factory worker struggles to keep pace with an ever-accelerating assembly line—until the machine swallows him whole.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Padma Lakshmi didn't hold back when talking about the way Vice President JD Vance adapted (or didn't) to his wife Usha Vance's culture.—
Mariyam Muhammad,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
1 Apr. 2026
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The older consensus assumes Washington would still try to stabilize the situation—escort shipping, surge regional forces, send warnings, hold back from hitting the mainland.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Choke (back).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/choke%20%28back%29. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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