All 3 Uses of
stifle
in
All Quiet on the Western Front
- When he presses himself down upon her long and powerfully, when he buries his face and his limbs deep in her from the fear of death by shell-fire, then she is his only friend, his brother, his mother; he stifles his terror and his cries in her silence and her security; she shelters him and releases him for ten seconds to live, to run, ten seconds of life; receives him again and often for ever.
p. 55.6stifles = suppresses (stops)
- Once we hear a stifled cry.
p. 94.2stifled = suppressed (stopped)
- Then I see Kantorek and am scarcely able to stifle my laughter.
p. 175.2 *stifle = suppress (prevent)
Definitions:
-
(1)
(stifle as in: stifling the urge) to suppress (prevent something or decrease its development) -- often political freedom
-
(2)
(stifle as in: the heat is stifling) to make breathing difficult or impossible -- often from heat or humidity