2 meanings
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1 —as in:
stifling the urge
Definition
to suppress (prevent something or decrease its development) — often political freedom- These excessive rules that stifle creativity.
stifle = suppress
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- The authorities cracked down in an attempt to stifle dissent.
- The book is so boring, it stifles whatever curiosity students bring tot he class.
- It is a stifling police state.
- I stifled my laugh.
- I stifled a giggle.S.E. Hinton -- The Outsiders
- Theresa put her hand to her mouth to stifle her scream, but it was still loud enough that the people at the nearby tables turned their heads.Nicholas Sparks -- Message in a Bottle
- I stifled a yawn, then looked at my watch.Sarah Dessen -- Along for the Ride
- Panicking, Cole stifled a cough—he didn't dare cough.Ben Mikaeslen -- Touching Spirit Bear
- ...they both had to stifle their laughs as Professor Trelawney gazed in their direction.J.K. Rowling -- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
stifle = suppress
stifles = suppresses
stifling = making it difficult for people to express themselves freely
stifled = suppressed
stifled = suppressed (stopped)
stifle = suppress
stifled = suppressed (prevented something from happening)
stifled = suppressed (held back)
stifle = suppress
2 —as in:
the heat is stifling
Definition
to make breathing difficult or impossible — often from heat or humidity- It was a hot, humid, stifling day.
stifling = making it difficult to breath
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- The heat and humidity are stifling.
- Her perfume was stifling.
- The air seemed thick and stifling.Nicholas Sparks -- The Guardian
- In the summer's stifling heat, the room seemed airless and threatening.Ben Mikaeslen -- Touching Spirit Bear
- And she was stooped and seemed to be finding it hard to breathe, as if the air of that place stifled her.C.S. Lewis -- The Magician's Nephew
- The room was large and stifling, and, though it was already four o'clock, opening the windows admitted only a gust of hot shrubbery from the Park.F. Scott Fitzgerald -- The Great Gatsby
- The atmosphere is stifling, sluggish, leaden.Anne Frank -- The Diary of a Young Girl
- ...and the sun's rays falling strongly into the parlour, instead of cheering, made her still more melancholy, for sunshine appeared to her a totally different thing in a town and in the country. Here, its power was only a glare: a stifling, sickly glare, serving but to bring forward stains and dirt that might otherwise have slept.Jane Austen -- Mansfield Park
- Even across the gym, it seemed she could smell his stifling cologne.Sharon M. Draper -- Forged by Fire
stifling = making it difficult to breath
stifling = making it difficult to breath
stifling = making breathing more difficult — typically due to heat and humidity
stifling = so hot and humid that breathing is more difficult
stifled = made breathing difficult
stifling = making breathing difficult — typically due to heat and humidity
stifling = (figuratively) making breathing difficult
stifling = (figuratively) making breathing difficult
stifling = making breathing more difficult
Less commonly:
Much more rarely, to stifle is used in the context of anatomy to refer to a four-legged animal's equivalent of the human knee (the joint between the upper and lower leg).