Stifle: meaning, example and synonyms
Stiflev. To suppress or restrain an idea, feeling or activity.
Example
Some economists argue that excessive licensing rules stifle innovation by making it costly for newcomers to test untried ideas.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Synonyms
- suppress, smother, repress, inhibit
- Antonyms
- encourage, foster, nurture, unleash
- Memory tip
- Stifle a yawn, stifle dissent: both are pushed down and held in.
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Check yourself: Stifle in context
Strict rules about which topics students could research may ______ the very curiosity the program hoped to encourage.
Answer: stifle. Strict limits suppress curiosity, the opposite of encouraging it: stifle. Expedite (speed up) would help, not hurt; recant and stipulate make no sense with 'curiosity.'
The audience tried to ______ their laughter as the speaker's notes blew off the podium, but a few giggles escaped.
Answer: stifle. Holding laughter in, though a few giggles escaped, is trying to stifle it. Decry (denounce), expedite (speed up) and stipulate (require) don't describe holding back laughter.