as in close
lacking fresh air
the lecture hall was stifling until we opened several windows
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in strangling
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 suppressing
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
stifled a yawn
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in muffling
to deaden the sound of
he stifled a cough with his hand
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stifling
Fred Katz, New York Times, 15 May 2026
Her mother, who had a staid upbringing in California, came to New York in the early sixties looking for someplace more diverse and less stifling.
—Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026
Jonathan Weber, Fortune, 19 May 2026
If the temperature in your home is stifling, stay low to the ground.
—Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 18 May 2026
This aesthetic approach is in sharp contrast to the film’s otherwise crisp digital images, courtesy of the Alexa 35, which render Las Cruces into a lyrical, longing landscape evoking entire histories, in all its deep blues and soft yet stifling oranges.
—Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 17 May 2026
By gatekeeping who can participate in fashion’s future, the industry is effectively stifling its own ability to survive.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 15 May 2026
Expected among those reforms will be changes at the National Film Institute (NFI), the powerful body that controls film financing in the country, and whose politicization under the Orbán regime was blamed by many Hungarian filmmakers for stifling critical voices.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 15 May 2026
By optimizing for today, AI may be stifling tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
—Syed Ahmad, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Despite the summer heat, the windows were often closed to keep out horseflies and the long ears of loyalist spies, so the air inside was stifling and pungent.
—Literary Hub, 13 May 2026
Birds eat and digest the seeds, then the plant grows in dense stands and blocks sunlight from reaching other young plants, overcrowding or stifling other species.
—Sarah Everett, The Spruce, 11 May 2026
Adjective
For all the deserved talk about the Knicks’ dynamic offense, the defense has been far more stifling than their reputation suggests.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 15 May 2026
Her mother, who had a staid upbringing in California, came to New York in the early sixties looking for someplace more diverse and less stifling.
—Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026
Verb
The open-source software movement, partly a political project to protect the freedom to tinker and prevent corporate oligarchies from stifling innovation, would become a cornerstone of the technology industry.
—Jonathan Weber, Fortune, 19 May 2026
If the temperature in your home is stifling, stay low to the ground.
—Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 18 May 2026
This aesthetic approach is in sharp contrast to the film’s otherwise crisp digital images, courtesy of the Alexa 35, which render Las Cruces into a lyrical, longing landscape evoking entire histories, in all its deep blues and soft yet stifling oranges.
—Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 17 May 2026
By gatekeeping who can participate in fashion’s future, the industry is effectively stifling its own ability to survive.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 15 May 2026
Expected among those reforms will be changes at the National Film Institute (NFI), the powerful body that controls film financing in the country, and whose politicization under the Orbán regime was blamed by many Hungarian filmmakers for stifling critical voices.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 15 May 2026
By optimizing for today, AI may be stifling tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
—Syed Ahmad, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Despite the summer heat, the windows were often closed to keep out horseflies and the long ears of loyalist spies, so the air inside was stifling and pungent.
—Literary Hub, 13 May 2026
Birds eat and digest the seeds, then the plant grows in dense stands and blocks sunlight from reaching other young plants, overcrowding or stifling other species.
—Sarah Everett, The Spruce, 11 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stifling
Adjective
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Then, style it with jeans to hit the town for drinks with your closest friends.—
Caroline Hughes,
Travel + Leisure,
20 May 2026
-
Here, over a dozen or so hammocks hang from palm trees, swaying just over the water, close enough to dip your toes.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
19 May 2026
Verb
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Luis Benitez-Gonzalez, a 26-year-old previously deported Mexican national, is accused of strangling two women in the area of Austin, Texas, in 2018 and 2024.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
Gaff allegedly assaulted and raped Vesey before fatally strangling her.—
Nadine El-Bawab,
ABC News,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Their basic antitrust allegation was that NCAA member schools fixed prices by limiting the number of slots for coach employees, thus suppressing opportunities and wages.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
15 May 2026
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Renovations of the House chamber will force members to meet at the Old State Capitol, where, decades ago, Mississippi lawmakers passed Jim Crow laws suppressing Black voting.—
Jack Brook,
Chicago Tribune,
11 May 2026
Verb
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The sound-muffling fabrics, carpets, ceiling tiles, tablecloths and rugs that used to decorate restaurants are deemed too stuffy these days, and even upholstered booths are being replaced by more barebones tables — and lots of them, close together.—
Allyson Reedy,
Denver Post,
13 May 2026
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Their flexible design fits snugly into ears, muffling plane engine sounds and loud conversations.—
Sian Babish,
PEOPLE,
13 May 2026
Adjective
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Georgia will surely be ready and focused on its home floor following two consecutive losses, but Bucky Ball and its suffocating style from a fresh A&M team will be too much for the Bulldogs.—
Tony Catalina,
Austin American Statesman,
30 Jan. 2026
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Justin Edmonds / Getty Images Darnold, Mike Macdonald and a suffocating defense have led the Seahawks to the big stage for the fourth time in franchise history.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The vast majority of people in Pompeii and Herculaneum—the cities hardest hit—perished from asphyxiation, choking on the thick clouds of noxious gas and ash.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
18 May 2026
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The agency is aware of 11 choking incidents, the notice states.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Second, foundational models are swallowing the application layer.—
Vivian Toh,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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Hundreds of pages of incident reports paint a disturbing picture — a 12-year-old convulsing after apparently swallowing an unknown object, a 15-year-old cutting a large gash in her arm with pieces of a broken toilet, residents stabbing staffers with wooden shards from a broken bed frame.—
Samantha Rappaport,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
The service Service here is friendly and not stuffy.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
-
The sound-muffling fabrics, carpets, ceiling tiles, tablecloths and rugs that used to decorate restaurants are deemed too stuffy these days, and even upholstered booths are being replaced by more barebones tables — and lots of them, close together.—
Allyson Reedy,
Denver Post,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stifling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stifling. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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