stifling
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
"Service accommodation is a personal experience that personnel should be allowed to share with the Committee. Stifling those voices hinders thorough parliamentary scrutiny."
From BBC • Sep. 26, 2023
Stifling speech is never a recipe for a peaceful society.
From Salon • Nov. 24, 2022
Stifling temperatures are forecast to continue throughout the week in Texas, so its power grid isn’t out of the woods yet.
From The Verge • Jul. 12, 2022
Stifling flatulence is a full-time job, and one that he does very well.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2022
Stifling my giggle, I say, “Tell us about an important event from your life.”
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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.
