stifle
verb (used with object)
to quell, crush, or end by force: to stifle free expression.
has stifled
-
present perfectof stifle (3rd person singular).present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is the inverse of China’s “Great Firewall,” a sprawling regulatory and technological system that has stifled foreign competition and restricted the Chinese public’s access to information for more than two decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
“My Neighbor Totoro” is a gateway into a pastoral ideal that still exists in living memory, reviving parts of our imagination that maturity has stifled into dormancy.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
However, poor governance has stifled development in Cameroon, which ranked 140 out of 180 countries in Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2025
That has stifled competition with Uber’s own delivery service, costing it millions of dollars in revenue, Uber said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2025
Ah! well, such as he is, incomplete and doomed to never-ending childhood, he is nobler even so than he in whom knowledge has stifled sentiment.
From The Devil's Pool by George Burnham Ives
