STIFLE • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Stifle

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/stˈaɪfəl/ Listen

verb

Stifle v. t. (past & past part. stifled; pres. part. stifling)

To stop the breath of by crowding something into the windpipe, or introducing an irrespirable substance into the lungs; to choke; to suffocate; to cause the death of by such means; as, to stifle one with smoke or dust. "Stifled with kisses, a sweet death he dies." "I took my leave, being half stifled with the closeness of the room."

To stop; to extinguish; to deaden; to quench; as, to stifle the breath; to stifle a fire or flame. "Bodies... stifle in themselves the rays which they do not reflect or transmit."

To suppress the manifestation or report of; to smother; to conceal from public knowledge; as, to stifle a story; to stifle passion. "I desire only to have things fairly represented as they really are; no evidence smothered or stifled."

Stifle v. i. To die by reason of obstruction of the breath, or because some noxious substance prevents respiration. "You shall stifle in your own report."

noun

Stifle n. (Far.) The joint next above the hock, and near the flank, in the hind leg of the horse and allied animals; the joint corresponding to the knee in man; called also stifle joint.

Stifle bone, a small bone at the stifle joint; the patella, or kneepan.

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Etymology of 'Stifle'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Stifle" Quotes from Famous Books

... thy perfect face, Ah, shed once more thy perfumed hair's profusion, Open thine arms and make my resting place. Lay thy red lips on mine as heretofore, Grant me the treasure of thy beauty's store, Stifle all thought in one imperious kiss,— What shall I ask for more ...

— Last Poems • Laurence Hope

... seems—totters upon the edge of doom. Therefore the stoutest hand must seize the helm. Rome must be cleansed,—cleansed to the very roots; The sluggish we must waken from their slumber,— And crush to earth the power of these wretches Who sow their poison in the mind and stifle The slightest promise of a better life. Look you,—'tis civic freedom I would further,— The civic spirit that in former times Was regnant here. Friends, I shall conjure back The golden age, when Romans gladly gave Their lives ...

— Early Plays - Catiline, The Warrior's Barrow, Olaf Liljekrans • Henrik Ibsen

... you will not pity me when you have heard all my story. With the earliest dawn I rushed out of the house, which seemed to stifle me. I longed for the cool morning breezes, and God forgive me, if I thought too with longing of the cool sandy reaches that lay under the rippling waters of the bay! On the brow of the hill I met Essec Powell, who was out early to see a sick cow, and there, ...

— By Berwen Banks • Allen Raine

... the curtains had been let down, nothing could be seen of the room inside; only snatches of song and laughter floated out into the open air. The house door stood open. He stopped for a moment in the dark hall to stifle the beating of his ...

— Dame Care • Hermann Sudermann

... upon me. I compassionated him and sometimes felt a wish to console him, but when I looked upon him, when I saw the filthy mass that moved and talked, my heart sickened and my feelings were altered to those of horror and hatred. I tried to stifle these sensations; I thought that as I could not sympathize with him, I had no right to withhold from him the small portion of happiness which was yet in ...

— Frankenstein - or The Modern Prometheus • Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) Shelley

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