Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for stifle on Thesaurus.com verb (used with object), sti·fled, sti·fling. to quell, crush, or end by force: to stifle a revolt; to stifle free expression. to suppress, curb, or withhold: to stifle a yawn. to kill by impeding respiration; smother. Show More
verb (used without object), sti·fled, sti·fling. to suffer from difficulty in breathing, as in a close atmosphere. to become stifled or suffocated. Show More
Origin of stifle 1 1350–1400; Middle English < Old Norse stīfla to stop up, dam, akin to stīfr stiff
Related forms sti·fler , noun un·sti·fled , adjective (in a horse or other quadruped) the joint between the femur and the tibia, corresponding anatomically to the human knee. Show More
Origin of stifle 2 1275–1325; Middle English < ?
Also called stifle joint .
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for stifle muzzle ,
suppress ,
smother ,
repress ,
suffocate ,
curb ,
squelch ,
strangle ,
silence ,
asphyxiate ,
stultify ,
muffle ,
stagnate ,
stop ,
choke ,
cork ,
hush ,
trammel ,
kill ,
squash Examples from the Web for stifle Contemporary Examples of stifle But the House approved a measure last month to stifle that proposed expansion.
Just as goals galore have defined this World Cup in Brazil, so too have the men whose job it is to stifle and stop those goals.
The NY Governor has set off a right-wing firestorm, standing accused of seeking to stifle free speech and political plurality.
Good technology tends to win out over time, despite all the attempts by the old guard to stifle it.
He again turns Medicare into a voucher program, a position he had to stifle in 2012, because Romney did not approve.
Historical Examples of stifle As He knows so well where to hit us we must stifle our moans when He does so.
So hard it is, even for the most depraved, to stifle the last embers of the moral sense.
Chip made haste to stifle his mirth, in fear that she was going to cry.
Then, the moment I reached home, it seemed to me I should stifle were I to enter the house.
Because it seemed to me that we were all of us, all day long, endeavouring to stifle the voice.
British Dictionary definitions for stifle (tr) to smother or suppress stifle a cough to feel or cause to feel discomfort and difficulty in breathing to prevent or be prevented from breathing so as to cause death (tr) to crush or stamp out Show More
Derived Forms stifler , noun Word Origin for stifle C14: variant of stuflen, probably from Old French estouffer to smother
the joint in the hind leg of a horse, dog, etc, between the femur and tibia Show More
Word Origin for stifle C14: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for stifle v. late 14c., "to choke, suffocate, drown," of uncertain origin, possibly an alteration of Old French estouffer "to stifle, smother," which may be from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German stopfon "to plug up, stuff"). Metaphoric sense is from 1570s. Related: Stifled ; stifling .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
