Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Suppressed or held back, often with effort: Describes something, typically a sound, emotion, or action, that is forcibly restrained or prevented from being expressed fully or freely.
   • Suffocated or smothered: Can describe a feeling of being unable to breathe freely, either literally or figuratively.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • She let out a stifled sob, trying not to cry in public.
  • The room was filled with stifled laughter during the serious meeting.
  • He felt a stifled scream rise in his throat as he watched the horror movie.

Advanced Usage

• "stifled by": Used to indicate the cause of the suppression, often an environment, emotion, or rule.
  • Her creativity felt stifled by the company's strict policies.
• Describing an atmosphere or environment that feels oppressive and restricting.
  • The stifled air in the tiny room made it hard to think.

Variants and Related Words

• Stifle (verb): To suppress, hold back, or suffocate.
  • He tried to stifle a yawn.
• Stifling (adjective): Describing something that causes suffocation or severe restriction; unbearably hot or oppressive.
  • The stifling heat made everyone lethargic.

Synonyms

• Suppressed: Held back or kept from being expressed.
• Smothered: Extinguished or suppressed; covered thickly.
• Strangled: Choked; suppressed forcibly.
• Muffled: Made quiet or less distinct.

Antonyms

• Unrestrained: Not held back or controlled.
• Unfettered: Released from restraint; free.
• Expressed: Conveyed or communicated freely.

Related Phrases

• A stifled yawn: A yawn that is partially suppressed.
• Stifled ambition: Ambition that is held back or not allowed to develop.
• In a stifled voice: Speaking in a voice that is held back, often due to strong emotion.

Adjective

1. held in check with difficulty
   • a smothered cough
   • a stifled yawn
   • a strangled scream
   • suppressed laughter