Meaning & use
stifle
Last updated
To suppress or hold back a feeling, sound, or action, or to make it hard to breathe.
See it in a sentence
She stifled a yawn during the long meeting.
Excessive regulation can stifle innovation in small businesses.
A note on using this word
Stifle is commonly used both for physical suppression (stifling a laugh) and for figurative suppression (stifling creativity or growth).
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
encouragerelease
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