Verb (used with object) : to stifle a revolt; to stifle free expression. ,to stifle a yawn.    From Dictionary.com. 

"Look you," he said in stifled gutturals, turning to St. Vincent.    From Wordnik.com.  [CHAPTER 22] Reference

Laws forbidding trade with any country other than Spain stifled chances for industrial development.    From Wordnik.com.  [Mexico's colonial government, successful failure] Reference

"Thus," cried one of the supporters, in stifled sounds, "has my father proved his love for Scotland!".    From Wordnik.com.  [The Scottish Chiefs] Reference

Dominator, and defensemen Chris Chelios and Nicklas Lidstrom again stifled Vancouver's top line of Markus Naslund-Todd.    From Wordnik.com.  [National Hockey League - Canucks vs. Red Wings] Reference

Suddenly there came from the oak a stifled whisper, "Father!".    From Wordnik.com.  [Some Three Hundred Years Ago] Reference

If nature is never bound down, nor the voice of inspiration stifled, that is enough.    From Wordnik.com.  [Woman in the Ninteenth Century and Kindred Papers Relating to the Sphere, Condition and Duties, of Woman.] Reference

He gave a kind of stifled cry and started up the stairs.    From Wordnik.com.  [Killer Dolphin]

At the threshold they were arrested by a kind of stifled cry.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Nursing Home Murder]

Positively, there did seem to be a kind of stifled murmur within.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Elson Readers, Book 5] Reference

Actually, it 'stifled' him right into an affair with a tall redhead who sat beside him in Creditor's Rights.    From Wordnik.com.  [Never Come Down]

And the reality on the ground was so far removed from, from the way he was portraying it, that it kind of stifled the debate.    From Wordnik.com.  [CNN Transcript Nov 12, 2006] Reference

(People who complain about how their opinions have been "stifled" always seem to demand that their critics be punished, don't they?).    From Wordnik.com.  [Daimnation!: Poor Ted Honderich] Reference

So I'd say that "stifled" was relatively moderate language.    From Wordnik.com.  [Conservapedia - Recent changes [en]]

Did health care reform get "stifled" in the House as a result?.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com] Reference

Positively, there did seem to be a kind of stifled murmur within!.    From Wordnik.com.  [Myths That Every Child Should Know A Selection Of The Classic Myths Of All Times For Young People] Reference

Positively, there did seem to be a kind of stifled murmur, within!.    From Wordnik.com.  [Children's Literature A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes] Reference

Report: Nokia 'stifled' development of iPhone-like gadgets - Boing.    From Wordnik.com.  [Boing Boing] Reference

ClearType, noting that this technology was "stifled" by existing business groups.    From Wordnik.com.  [Daring Fireball] Reference

Welch said the defense of Luke Mendola, Taylor Engstrom and Brendan Mangino "stifled".    From Wordnik.com.  [theithacajournal.com -] Reference

"Miss Danesbury, you comfort me," she said, in a kind of stifled voice, and then she ran off with the children.    From Wordnik.com.  [A World of Girls The Story of a School] Reference

Men, squatting on the ground, their faces hidden beneath their cloaks, give vent at intervals to a kind of stifled barking.    From Wordnik.com.  [Tentation de saint Antoine. English] Reference

I felt stifled, as if I was merely passing time instead of living.    From Wordnik.com.  [I'm A Better Mother Since I Left My Child] Reference

But once fighting actually began, most conservatives stifled their doubts.    From Wordnik.com.  [Bombs Over Baghdad] Reference

Meanwhile, India's leaders remain mired in debate and stifled by bureaucracy.    From Wordnik.com.  [Vs.] Reference

In an overly secretive world, assumptions go untested and rigorous thinking is stifled.    From Wordnik.com.  [Hold the Phone] Reference

“Chicken noodle soup,” one of the Embree brothers added with a barely-stifled laugh.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Disc Jockey] Reference

Jabri's concepts could well be stifled by the enervation of seeking relevant permissions.    From Wordnik.com.  [Hisham Wyne: Opportunity in Disguise: Why Urban Spaces Don't Need to Remain Vacant] Reference

In my early 20s, when I was reading a lot of contemporary English fiction, I felt very stifled.    From Wordnik.com.  [Luminous Novel From Dark Master] Reference

Yet they're stifled by regulations that protect political images rather than protect the public.    From Wordnik.com.  [Mail Call: The Cia's Troubles] Reference

The stifled potential of the country's youth is one of the most tragic realities of modern Iran.    From Wordnik.com.  [Nasim Novin: Is Ahmadinejad Instigating a Demographic Catastrophe?] Reference

Decision making is so heavily layered that opportunities are squandered and creativity is stifled.    From Wordnik.com.  [10 Big Thinkers for Big Business] Reference

But she's confided to friends that she feels restless and stifled, that she wants to be more entrepreneurial.    From Wordnik.com.  [Sending An Sos At Abc] Reference

Since then, says one woman involved in the process, conservatives have stifled any real initiatives and the charter never went into effect.    From Wordnik.com.  [Pushing Back The Veil] Reference