STIFLE • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • 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

... perfectly recollected it. As Coles had said, the sights and sounds of the ship had been a renewal of the saddest time in his life; he could not at night divest himself of the impression that he was under arrest, and the sins of his life gathered themselves in fearful and oppressive array, as if to stifle him, and the phantom of poor Margaret with her lamp—which had haunted him from the beginning of his illness—seemed to taunt him with having been too fainthearted and tardy to be worthy to espouse her cause. The faith to which he tried to cling WOULD seem to fail him in those awful hours, ...

— Chantry House • Charlotte M. Yonge

... wished them to consider the progress which the opinion of the injustice of this trade was making in the nation at large, as manifested by the petitions; which had almost obstructed the proceedings of the House by their perpetual introduction. It was impossible for them to stifle this great question. As for himself, he would renew his profession of last year, that he would never cease, but with life, to promote so glorious ...

— The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the - Abolition of the African Slave-Trade, by the British Parliament (1839) • Thomas Clarkson

... a silence of some minutes, 'I would request a favour of you: You have a right to know on whom you confer an obligation. I will not therefore stifle a confession which covers me with shame; But permit me to comprise it in as few ...

— The Monk; a romance • M. G. Lewis

... to tell Walford he intended giving up the Industry; that must be his first act. And after that? Well, after that he would look about him, and if he could pick up a tidy little vessel cheap; he would invest his savings in the purchase of her, sail in his own employ, and try to stifle all vain regrets by plunging into a more adventurous ...

— The Voyage of the Aurora • Harry Collingwood

... from any gods, celestial or infernal; for if a divine artificer had existed, they said, it could not have occurred. And thus the miracles which were designed by this great man to convince the world of a God, served for a demonstration that there was and could be none! They equally served also to stifle the sage's claims to be considered God's messenger, for, unhappily exhorting a large crowd to believe that he was the cause of all the misery and terror which they had suffered, they were so exasperated that they took summary vengeance on him: upon which ...

— The Eclipse of Faith - Or, A Visit To A Religious Sceptic • Henry Rogers

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