stifle
verb
[ ˈstʌɪf(ə)l ]
• make (someone) unable to breathe properly; suffocate.
• "those in the streets were stifled by the fumes"
Similar:
suffocate,
choke,
asphyxiate,
smother,
very hot,
sweltering,
airless,
suffocating,
oppressive,
humid,
close,
muggy,
sticky,
soupy,
claggy,
boiling,
• restrain (a reaction) or stop oneself acting on (an emotion).
• "she stifled a giggle"
Similar:
suppress,
smother,
restrain,
keep back,
hold back,
hold in,
fight back,
choke back,
gulp back,
withhold,
check,
keep in check,
swallow,
muffle,
quench,
curb,
silence,
contain,
bottle up,
bite one's lip,
cork up,
Opposite:
let out,
Origin:
late Middle English: perhaps from a frequentative of Old French estouffer ‘smother, stifle’.
stifle
noun
• a joint in the legs of horses, dogs, and other animals, equivalent to the knee in humans.
Origin:
Middle English: of unknown origin.