as in to stifle
to refrain from openly showing or uttering
choked back a sarcastic reply to an insulting question
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for choke (back)
Verb
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The rest of the film is filled with such stifling cuts, with scenes that dispense information without exploring it.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026 -
Both are critical of Measure ULA, which has stifled development across the city.—
The Editorial Board,
Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Fungicides, for instance, are used to suppress disease-causing pathogens like blights and leaf spots, but might also impact beneficial microbes that live in flowers.—
Miri Talabac,
Baltimore Sun,
28 Apr. 2026
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Researchers from the University of Bristol in England and the University at Buffalo in New York found that people actively trying to suppress food cravings were more likely to spend time watching indulgent food content online — yet ended up eating less of it afterward.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Starbucks was going to swallow everything.—
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
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After a week where everything that could have gone wrong did and the noise surrounding the club threatened to swallow the team whole, the Red Sox finally broke their four-game slide in grand fashion and got to enjoy a nice, drama-free win.—
Mac Cerullo,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This is the same structural problem that has held back AI adoption in agriculture more broadly.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Ukraine has developed cutting-edge and battle-tested drone technology that has proved essential in holding back Russia’s bigger army and has drawn military interest from around the world.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Choke (back).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/choke%20%28back%29. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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