stifle
verb (used with object)
to quell, crush, or end by force: to stifle free expression.
have been stifling
-
present perfect progressiveof stifle.present perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
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.
But many of its volunteer moderators have been stifling conversations about race, police, and protests while removing posts with that mention Black Lives Matter.
From The Verge ● Jun. 5, 2020
When speaking of his final goodbye with McCain, he broke into a strange little grin, his lips pressed upward as if he could have been stifling either amusement or tears.
From New York Times ● Jan. 2, 2019
They are impatient of hindrance, and it is inconsistent with facts to infer that they have been "stifling generous impulses for their own larger freedom," at the dictation of their own sons.
From Woman and the Republic — a Survey of the Woman-Suffrage Movement in the United States and a Discussion of the Claims and Arguments of Its Foremost Advocates by Helen Kendrick Johnson
"The atmosphere must have been stifling," observed Fritz.
From Willis the Pilot by Paul Adrien
It is roomy enough, but I found it very dirty: to remain under the deck, at this season of the year, would have been stifling, and on the deck there was no tent or awning.
From Four Years in France or, Narrative of an English Family's Residence there during that Period; Preceded by some Account of the Conversion of the Author to the Catholic Faith by Henry Digby Beste
