stifle
Keep from surfacing
To stifle is to suppress or hold back.
You stifle a yawn, a laugh, a sob.
You stifle dissent or opposition by preventing its expression.
A stifling environment—whether literally airless or figuratively oppressive—makes it hard to breathe or think freely: The bureaucracy stifled innovation.
To feel stifled is to feel constrained or smothered.
Forcibly put an end to
- repressHold back forcibly
- restrainLimit freedom of movement
- inhibitTo restrain or hinder
- curbRaised road margin
quash · quell · subdue · hold back · bottle up · contain · check · dampen
Kill by blocking air
- chokeObstruct breathing or airflow
- gaspSudden sharp breath
- airlessHaving no atmosphere
- breathlessLacking air, gasping
stuffy · oppressive · stagnant · close · muggy · unventilated · smothering · strangling
Extremely hot, uncomfortably so
- humidContaining much moisture
- muggyUnpleasantly warm and humid
- sultryHot, humid, or alluring
- oppressiveUnjustly harsh or stifling
airless · suffocating · tropical · sticky · unbearable · scorching · stuffy · close
Unjust exercise of power
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
- censorshipOfficial content restriction
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
subjugation · totalitarianism · dictatorship · coercion · control · domination · persecution · suppression
Capacity for original thought
- innovationCreating something original
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- expressionConveyed thought or feeling
- individualityUnique personal character
spontaneity · initiative · growth · potential · development · inspiration · originality · ideas
suppress
Forcibly put an end to
curb · quash · quell · subdue · hold back · bottle up · contain · check · dampen · squash
silence
Total lack of sound
quiet · censor · shush · squelch · shut up · mute · quell · dampen · stonewall · quash
asphyxiate
Kill by blocking air
breathless · stuffy · oppressive · stagnant · close · muggy · unventilated · smothering · strangling · throttle
sweltering
Extremely hot, uncomfortably so
oppressive · airless · suffocating · tropical · sticky · unbearable · scorching · stuffy · close · sweat
oppression
Unjust exercise of power
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
- censorshipOfficial content restriction
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
repression · subjugation · totalitarianism · dictatorship · coercion · control · domination · persecution · suppression · intimidation
creativity
Capacity for original thought
- innovationCreating something original
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- expressionConveyed thought or feeling
individuality · spontaneity · initiative · growth · potential · development · inspiration · originality · ideas · talent
feelings
Emotional responses experienced internally
cry · giggle · yawn · scream · urge · impulse · outburst · reaction · anger · grief
- horseshorse, mare, mares, stallion, stallions
- animal partsappendage, forelimb, hind leg, hind legs, hindlegs
- bottling emotionsrepress, suppress, hold back, contain, restrain
- obstructblock, halt, stop, impede, hinder
- restrainhold back, suppress, hold in, keep in, keep down
- asphyxiationsuffocation, asphyxia, smothering, strangulation, strangle