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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for choke (back)
Verb
-
The Valkyries seemed equally eager to welcome the rookie to the league’s most intimidating road environment, and succeeded in stifling the 23-year-old guard.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026 -
When fact and fiction run together, when folks seek to stifle speech, limit access to education, devalue diversity, erase the inconvenient parts of our history.—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
But suppressing undesirable emotions is not only impossible but also not all that helpful.—
Dr. Deepika Chopra,
Flow Space,
16 June 2026
-
Among the combinations studied, the team found that electron leakage could be suppressed at dimensions below 4 nanometers, suggesting future transistors may be scaled even further than current technologies allow.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Beneath what looks like solid snow can lie hidden pools of icy water capable of swallowing people, vehicles, and scientific equipment without warning.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
13 June 2026
-
The other man stabbed in the neck complained that the wound, which required three stitches, affected his ability to swallow and eat, prosecutors said.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
But good for him for not holding back.—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
17 June 2026
-
But Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of AI giant Perplexity, says that operating under the fear of failure only holds back success.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
17 June 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Choke (back).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/choke%20%28back%29. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
