stifle

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

stifle [stifle stifles stifled stifling] BrE [ˈstaɪfl] NAmE [ˈstaɪfl] verb
1. transitive ~ sth to prevent sth from happening; to prevent a feeling from being expressed
Syn: ↑suppress
•She managed to stifle a yawn.
•They hope the new rules will not stifle creativity.
•The government failed to stifle the unrest.
2. intransitive, transitive to feel unable to breathe, or to make sb unable to breathe, because it is too hot and/or there is no fresh air
Syn: ↑suffocate
•I felt I was stifling in the airless room.
•~ sb Most of the victims were stifled by the fumes.
Derived Words: ↑stifling ▪ ↑stiflingly
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
late Middle English: perhaps from a frequentative of Old French estouffer ‘smother, stifle’.

Example Bank:
•‘It's stifling in here— can we open a window?’
•The heat in the crowded streets was stifling.


Example Bank:
•She pressed her hand against her mouth to stifle her sobs.
•Stifling her impatience, she waited another half an hour.

• Từ đồng nghĩa / Synonyms:
  knee, suffocate, asphyxiate, choke, dampen, smother, strangle, muffle, repress
• Từ trái nghĩa / Antonyms:
  stimulate, excite