stifling
/ˈstaɪflɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
stifling is spelled S-T-I-F-L-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, stifling means “That stifles” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in stifling?
| Letters | 8: S-T-I-F-L-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,017th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is stifling?
Stifling appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce stifling?
- /ˈstaɪflɪŋ/
Stifling has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-stifling.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of stifling
- more stifling comparative
- most stifling superlative
- stiflings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stifling mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
That stifles.
The heat was stifling; it seemed hard to breathe and the exertion of rolling over on the bed seemed too much.
noun
- 1
The act by which something is stifled.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of stifle
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stifling in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense that stifles:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | étouffant |
| German | stickig, erdrückend |
| Portuguese | sufocante |
| Spanish | sofocante |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.