as in suppressed
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stifled
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Paul Caputo,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2026
After feeling stifled in the corporate world, Gaudin said Inches has given him the freedom to embrace his creativity and show other LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs that ownership is possible.
—
Kaitlyn Harvey,
AJC.com,
24 June 2026
Saif Hassan scored 42 in 33 deliveries but Australia's spinners stifled Bangladesh in the middle overs.
—
ABC News,
19 June 2026
But against a suffocating new-look defense spearheaded by Williams, the Valkyries stifled Plum to the tune of a season-low nine points on 3-of-10 shooting and just 2 of 3 from the free throw line.
—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
16 June 2026
However, the 22-year-old Melbourne City goalkeeper did on the day with multiple saves that stifled Turkey.
—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
14 June 2026
However, the more decor displayed in your living room, the more stifled the space will feel.
—
Ashlyn Needham,
The Spruce,
4 June 2026
The war has stifled the flow of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
—
Damian J. Troise,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
And while the state has seen strong GDP growth in recent months, business groups still worry that this economic success could be stifled by limited job growth and economic uncertainty in the wake of federal policy changes.
—
P.r. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
Adjective
Literature, in his view, was a susurrus of stifled screams, a missive from the netherworld of the collective imaginary.
—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Verb
Likewise, inventories of unsold wine have stifled any sense of buying urgency.
—
Paul Caputo,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2026
After feeling stifled in the corporate world, Gaudin said Inches has given him the freedom to embrace his creativity and show other LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs that ownership is possible.
—
Kaitlyn Harvey,
AJC.com,
24 June 2026
Saif Hassan scored 42 in 33 deliveries but Australia's spinners stifled Bangladesh in the middle overs.
—
ABC News,
19 June 2026
But against a suffocating new-look defense spearheaded by Williams, the Valkyries stifled Plum to the tune of a season-low nine points on 3-of-10 shooting and just 2 of 3 from the free throw line.
—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
16 June 2026
However, the 22-year-old Melbourne City goalkeeper did on the day with multiple saves that stifled Turkey.
—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
14 June 2026
However, the more decor displayed in your living room, the more stifled the space will feel.
—
Ashlyn Needham,
The Spruce,
4 June 2026
The war has stifled the flow of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
—
Damian J. Troise,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
And while the state has seen strong GDP growth in recent months, business groups still worry that this economic success could be stifled by limited job growth and economic uncertainty in the wake of federal policy changes.
—
P.r. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifled
Adjective
-
General Manager Ken Holland hinted at potentially being done after trading center Phillip Danault for a draft pick in December and acquiring Panarin at a suppressed price in February, though he has been known to under-promise often and, sometimes, over-deliver.
-
Supervising sound editor Alastair Sirkett told IndieWire that Peter Claffey’s big, former-rugby-player frame really helps that moment sing with suppressed panic.
Verb
-
One woman says the woman who was being strangled was nearly dead when the attacker was confronted.
-
Instead, the men were beaten to death and strangled in a basement.
Verb
-
Each player swallowed a biometric tablet, about the size of a large vitamin, so that scientists could see how well his body cooled itself.
-
Today, the border's meanderings to its current location is the story of the birth of a nation that swallowed Native American tribes, Spanish descendants and Mexican citizens.
Verb
-
Missing crucial orders because a voice is muffled, or struggling to pull out an emergency fire shelter because a mask is in the way, could be the difference between life and death.
-
Everything feels muffled, with such heavy carpeting.
Adjective
-
He’s played by Grégoire Colin, one of the great modern French actors, whose onscreen persona combines unrelieved woundedness with barely repressed violence.
-
Zhang, delivering his first fully Cantonese-language performance on the big screen, portrays a repressed small-time man caught between competing versions of reality.
Verb
-
The aisles were so choked that blooms and branches brushed against us, the air heady with the scent of lilies, roses, eucalyptus, and sweet decay.
-
The lines are growing at Russian gas stations — and so is the frustration and uncertainty as several months of Ukrainian attacks have set oil refineries ablaze and choked supplies for motorists across the vast country.
Verb
-
While neutrals are still at the forefront of officewear, personal stylist Allie McKenna is sending out a PSA that muted pastels are also having a moment.
-
Yet because tax law provides commercial property owners little incentive to redevelop, and high fees further punish anyone trying to build housing, the effect of these reforms has been muted.
Adjective
-
When monitoring wanes and enforcement fades, workers pay the price first in wages and safety, then in silenced voices and must choose between an empty stomach and their rights.
Cite this Entry
“Stifled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifled. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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