1
as in strangled
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in swallowed
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
stifled a yawn
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in muffled
to deaden the sound of
he stifled a cough with his hand
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in suppressed
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stifled
Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Woods Richardson, who allowed just two hits, outdueled Yankees starter Carlos Rodón, who completely stifled the Twins (66-84) the last time the two teams played.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 16 Sep. 2025
Waves of trilobite extinctions swept the oceans, and an ancient planet better known for its explosion of life now saw the ambition of this frenzied new animal world periodically stifled under a high-CO2 hothouse.
—Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Vrabel, as previously mentioned, has stifled Tagovailoa in the past.
—Miami Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Instead, those ambitions have been stifled—partly because the university is a fussy place and partly because Harold is just too weird to fit in.
—Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
Flowers also discussed Caribbean perspectives, noting how creativity was often stifled in favor of conformity.
—Larry Stansbury, Essence, 12 Sep. 2025
Then Denver figured out Tennessee had no other ground-game threats and little offensive ingenuity, and stifled him in the second half.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2025
Detroit was stifled all night by the new look Packers defense with Micah Parsons in the fold, unable to generate the big plays that were a staple of the Detroit offense in past years when former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was calling the plays.
—Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
The equity-grading scandal underscores a destructive phenomenon, which since the 1960s has increasingly stifled America’s can-do spirit with countless rules and regulations.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Woods Richardson, who allowed just two hits, outdueled Yankees starter Carlos Rodón, who completely stifled the Twins (66-84) the last time the two teams played.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 16 Sep. 2025
Waves of trilobite extinctions swept the oceans, and an ancient planet better known for its explosion of life now saw the ambition of this frenzied new animal world periodically stifled under a high-CO2 hothouse.
—Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Vrabel, as previously mentioned, has stifled Tagovailoa in the past.
—Miami Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Instead, those ambitions have been stifled—partly because the university is a fussy place and partly because Harold is just too weird to fit in.
—Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
Flowers also discussed Caribbean perspectives, noting how creativity was often stifled in favor of conformity.
—Larry Stansbury, Essence, 12 Sep. 2025
Then Denver figured out Tennessee had no other ground-game threats and little offensive ingenuity, and stifled him in the second half.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2025
Detroit was stifled all night by the new look Packers defense with Micah Parsons in the fold, unable to generate the big plays that were a staple of the Detroit offense in past years when former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was calling the plays.
—Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifled
Verb
-
The victim in the case was just 7 years old when she was kidnapped, raped, strangled, stuffed in the trunk of a car and then thrown off a bridge after being wrapped in a blanket and having a bag tied over her head, according to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The man allegedly had strangled his wife, repeatedly punched her in the head and forced her to walk around naked.—
Kristi Miller,
Twin Cities,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Air defenses downed or suppressed 52 drones, the air force said, with the missile and six drones impacting across three locations.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Although Canon had mandated that the Cat's programmability be suppressed, the IAI team nevertheless maintained the ability to compute expressions, which Canon permitted as an extension of the editor metaphor.—
Cameron Kaiser,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
While Hazel Avenue is a busy street, traffic cannot be heard from inside the house and is muffled in the front yard.—
David Caraccio,
Sacbee.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Wind and road noise were nicely muted with the top up, and thanks to the 911’s sleek figure and retracting wind deflector—which doesn’t automatically deploy, thankfully—wind noise was impressively muffled at highway pace.—
Peter Nelson,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Comedian Alex Edelman plays Adam, a repressed father of four.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Only in this case, the repressed figure at the movie’s center also happens to be the president of Italy.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The same jury did, however, convict Chambers of battery and false imprisonment for other prior altercations in which prosecutors said Chambers pushed, grabbed and choked Dadkhah.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The air around the mop sink was choked by 20 flies.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In a sight that became more-than-familiar to Boise State fans, Jeanty seemed to be swallowed in the scrum at the line of scrimmage, before bursting out of the side and powering himself into the endzone.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Participants in the treatment group swallowed 28 capsules over two days, each containing gut bacteria from four donors.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Criticism of Israel has been muted within the Republican Party, tracking with surveys that show broad approval of Israel’s military operation among GOP voters.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The tradition muted palette gets a graphic update courtesy of pops of color informed by school pennants, an LV monogram tartan, as well as on theme embroideries and crests that extend to small accessories in the form of what are sure to be covetable caps, scarves, and ties.—
Naomi Rougeau,
Robb Report,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Tight end Zach Atkins, head on a swivel, astutely smothered the rock to preserve the score and push CU to within 16-13 before the extra point.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The smotherer has been smothered.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stifled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifled. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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