stifling
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stifling
Explanation
Something stifling makes you feel suffocated. If your mother insists on accompanying you on your first date, that will probably feel stifling. Stifle comes from the Middle English word stuffle, which means to kill by cutting off air. A really hot movie theater is stifling, as is an environment where you never get any space to yourself. This word can also be used as a noun to refer to the act of repressing or shutting something down, such as a dictator's stifling of popular protests. Either way, if something is stifling, it's preventing something else from living freely and fully.
Vocabulary lists containing stifling
The Sweltering Words of Summer
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Holes
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Refugee
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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.
Leo's comments, although delivered diplomatically, represented an open critique unheard of in a country accused of stifling freedom of expression.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
But it’s the songs that talk about brushing off stifling, trifling men, including the title track and “What Have You Done For Me Lately,” that have the most staying power.
From Salon • Apr. 11, 2026
The only nomination - and maybe this suggests the stifling of wingers is a division-wide phenomenon - at six is Antoine Semenyo, who recently won his first trophy, the Carabao Cup.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
In late January, the LME delayed the start of trading because of technical issues, temporarily stifling activity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026
Small, stifling, and quiet, it made quite a change from the Elmuthaleth.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
