with obj.
1
- make (someone) unable to breathe properly; suffocate使憋闷; 使窒息：
those in the streets were stifled by the fumes
烟雾使街上的人喘不过气来
as adj. stifling stifling heat.窒息人的热度。
2
- restrain (a reaction) or stop oneself acting on (an emotion)抑制（反应）; 使停止：
she stifled a giggle
她停止了咯咯的傻笑
she stifled a desire to turn and flee
她抑制住转身逃走的欲望
as adj. stifled she gave a stifled cry of disappointment.她失望得发出一声压抑的喊叫。
2.1
- prevent or constrain (an activity or idea)阻止（活动, 想法）; 抑制（活动, 想法）：
high taxes were stifling private enterprise.
高额税收抑制了私营企业的发展。
派生词
stifler
nounstiflingly
adverb一个令人窒息的热天。
词源
late Middle English: perhaps from a frequentative of Old French estouffer 'smother, stifle'.