stifling

stifling (comparative more stifling, superlative most stifling)

1. That stifles.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, pages 365-366:

     The oppression of the cabin was stifling, and Evelyn had left her; she could not bear his absence, and she followed him.

   The heat was stifling; it seemed hard to breathe and the exertion of rolling over on the bed seemed too much.

stifling

1. present participle and gerund of stifle

stifling (plural stiflings)

1. The act by which something is stifled.
   • 1857, Henry Clay Fish, Pulpit eloquence of the nineteenth century, page 507:

     Every man who is destroyed must destroy himself. When a man stifles an admonition of conscience, he may fairly be said to sow the stiflings of conscience.

   • 2022 November 30, Philip Haigh, “Expansion plans to restore Washington to rail network”, in RAIL, number 971, page 64:

     Despite this, Mott McDonald's report says: "Following the loss of employment in mining and manufacturing opportunities across the area, a lack of connectivity and accessibility to new opportunities has led to the stifling of development and inward investment.

• filsting, fistling, flitings, liftings, slifting