v.
Function: verb
Inflected Form: sti · fled ; sti · fling \ -f( ə -)li ŋ \
Etymology: alteration of Middle English stuflen
Date: 1513
transitive verb
1 a : to kill by depriving of oxygen : SUFFOCATE b (1) : SMOTHER (2) : MUFFLE
2 a : to cut off (as the voice or breath) b : to withhold from circulation or expression : REPRESS < stifled our anger> c : DETER , DISCOURAGE
intransitive verb : to become suffocated by or as if by lack of oxygen : SMOTHER < stifling in the heat>
– sti · fler \ -f( ə -)l ə r \ noun
– sti · fling · ly \ -f( ə -)li ŋ -l ē \ adverb