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Stifle synonyms

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smother
To deprive (a fire) of the oxygen necessary for combustion.
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  1. To deprive (a fire) of the oxygen necessary for combustion.
  2. To be extinguished.
  3. To suffocate.
suffocate
To impair the breathing of or cause discomfort to by cutting off the supply of fresh air.
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  1. To impair the breathing of or cause discomfort to by cutting off the supply of fresh air.
  2. To kill or destroy by preventing access of air or oxygen.
  3. To be unable to breathe freely; choke; stifle; smother
extinguish
To put an end to or make extinct; destroy:
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  1. To put an end to or make extinct; destroy:
  2. (Psychology) To bring about the extinction of a conditioned response.
  3. To cause a fire or light to stop burning or shining; put out.
burke
To avoid; disregard:
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  1. To avoid; disregard:
  2. To get rid of quietly; evade or suppress, as a parliamentary bill, discussion, etc.
  3. (Obs.) To murder by suffocating so as to leave the body unmarked and fit to be sold for dissection
choke
To affect with a sense of strangulation by passion or strong feeling.
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  1. To affect with a sense of strangulation by passion or strong feeling.
  2. To become strained with emotion
  3. (Informal) To be unable to perform efficiently, as in a sporting event, because of tension, strong emotion, etc.
gag
To block off or obstruct (a pipe or valve, for example).
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  1. To block off or obstruct (a pipe or valve, for example).
  2. To experience a regurgitative spasm in the throat, as from revulsion to a food or smell or in reflexive response to an introduced object.
  3. (Mech.) To choke or stop up (a valve, etc.)
hold back
(Idiomatic) to delay, especially in school
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  1. (Idiomatic) to delay, especially in school
  2. (Idiomatic) to contain; stop
hold down
(Idiomatic) To continue, to hold and to manage well.
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  1. (Idiomatic) To continue, to hold and to manage well.
  2. (Idiomatic) To restrain; to check.
hush
To be or become silent or still.
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  1. To be or become silent or still.
  2. To stop making noise; be or become quiet or silent
  3. To keep from public knowledge; suppress mention of. Often used with up :
muffle
To repress; stifle.
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  1. To repress; stifle.
  2. To deaden (a sound), as by wrapping
  3. To wrap or cover in order to deaden or prevent sound
quench
To cool (hot steel, etc.) suddenly by plunging into water, oil, or the like
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  1. To cool (hot steel, etc.) suddenly by plunging into water, oil, or the like
  2. To put out (a fire, for example); extinguish.
  3. To overcome; subdue; suppress
repress
To control so strictly or severely as to prevent the natural development or expression of
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  1. To control so strictly or severely as to prevent the natural development or expression of
  2. To hold back or prevent by an act of volition:
  3. To put down or subdue by force:
smother
To lavish a surfeit of a given emotion on (someone):
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  1. To lavish a surfeit of a given emotion on (someone):
  2. To hide or suppress by or as by covering; stifle
  3. To conceal, suppress, or hide:
squelch
To walk heavily, as through mud, making a sucking sound
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  1. To walk heavily, as through mud, making a sucking sound
  2. To produce a splashing, squishing, or sucking sound, as when walking through ooze.
  3. To suppress or silence completely and with a crushing effect
strangle
To kill by squeezing the throat so as to choke or suffocate; throttle.
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  1. To kill by squeezing the throat so as to choke or suffocate; throttle.
  2. To kill by squeezing the throat as with the hands, a noose, etc., so as to shut off the breath; throttle; choke
  3. To suppress, repress, or stifle:
suppress
To end, prohibit, or keep something from being known, heard, discussed, or seen. To end, prohibit, or keep something from being known, heard, discussed, or seen.
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  1. To end, prohibit, or keep something from being known, heard, discussed, or seen. To end, prohibit, or keep something from being known, heard, discussed, or seen.
  2. To curtail or inhibit the activity of something, such as the immune system or a gene.
  3. To restrain the growth, activity, or release of:
throttle
To suppress:
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  1. To suppress:
  2. To lessen the speed of (an engine, vehicle, etc.) by this or similar means; slow (down)
  3. To stop the utterance or action of; censor or suppress
dampen
To deaden, depress, reduce, or lessen
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  1. To deaden, depress, reduce, or lessen
  2. (Intransitive) To become damp; to deaden.
  3. To deaden, restrain, or depress:
deaden
To become as if dead; lose vigor, intensity, etc.
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  1. To become as if dead; lose vigor, intensity, etc.
  2. To render less intense, sensitive, or vigorous:
  3. To lessen the vigor, intensity, or liveliness of; dull
muffle
To deaden (a sound):
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  1. To deaden (a sound):
  2. To wrap or cover in order to deaden or prevent sound
  3. To prevent the expression of; stifle
mute
To soften the tone, color, shade, or hue of.
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  1. To soften the tone, color, shade, or hue of.
  2. To soften or muffle the sound of (a musical instrument, etc.) as with a mute
ban
To prohibit, as by official order, from doing, using, appearing, happening, etc.; forbid; censor
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  1. To prohibit, as by official order, from doing, using, appearing, happening, etc.; forbid; censor
  2. To prohibit (an action) or forbid the use of (something), especially by official decree:
  3. (South African) Under the former system of apartheid, to deprive (a person suspected of illegal activity) of the right of free movement and association with others.
censor
To examine and expurgate.
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  1. To examine and expurgate.
  2. To subject (a book, film, writer, etc.) to the close examination of a censor
hush
To be or become silent or still.
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  1. To be or become silent or still.
  2. To stop making noise; be or become quiet or silent
  3. To keep from public knowledge; suppress mention of. Often used with up :
suppress
To abolish by authority
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  1. To abolish by authority
  2. To inhibit the expression of (a gene):
  3. To restrain the growth, activity, or release of:
asphyxiate
To undergo asphyxia; suffocate.
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  1. To undergo asphyxia; suffocate.
  2. To cause asphyxia in; smother.
  3. To suffocate
choke
(Sports) To shorten one's grip on the handle of a bat or racket. Often used with up.
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  1. (Sports) To shorten one's grip on the handle of a bat or racket. Often used with up.
  2. To interfere with the respiration of by compression or obstruction of the larynx or trachea.
  3. To prevent from breathing by blocking the windpipe; suffocate; smother; stifle; often, specif., to prevent from breathing by squeezing the throat of; strangle
smother
To deprive (a fire) of the oxygen necessary for combustion.
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  1. To deprive (a fire) of the oxygen necessary for combustion.
  2. To overwhelm, dominate, suppress, or impede in a manner regarded as suffocating
  3. To suffocate.
suffocate
To impair the breathing of or cause discomfort to by cutting off the supply of fresh air.
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  1. To impair the breathing of or cause discomfort to by cutting off the supply of fresh air.
  2. To be unable to develop properly as because of a repressive or dulling environment
  3. To be unable to breathe freely; choke; stifle; smother
Find another word for stifle. In this page you can discover 38 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for stifle, like: restraint, smother, suffocate, extinguish, choke, burke, choke, gag, hold back, hold down and hush.

Sentence Examples

  • Brady's comment made her stifle a laugh.

  • In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Dean was forced to stifle a chuckle.

  • She pretended to stifle a yawn.

  • In the crowd people began talking loudly, to stifle their feelings of pity as it seemed to Pierre.

  • What angered him was that the coming of these visitors revived in his mind an unsettled question he always tried to stifle, one about which he always deceived himself.

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Words that mention stifle in the Dictionary

Words near stifle in the Thesaurus