Definition of "stifling"

stifling

adjective
comparative more stifling, superlative most stifling
1. That stifles.
  Quotations
  The oppression of the cabin was stifling, and Evelyn had left her; she could not bear his absence, and she followed him.
  1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), pages 365-366
verb
1. present participle and gerund of stifle
noun
plural stiflings
1. The act by which something is stifled.
  Quotations
  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.
  1857, Henry Clay Fish, Pulpit eloquence of the nineteenth century, page 507
  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.
  2022 November 30, Philip Haigh, “Expansion plans to restore Washington to rail network”, in RAIL, number 971, page 64