muffling

verb

present participle of muffle
1
as in muting
to deaden the sound of the walls muffled their conversation so that only a low murmur was heard

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wrapping
to surround or cover closely the airport had been muffled in fog all morning long

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of muffling Patmos would divide the open warehouse space into smaller rooms, add pipes and support infrastructure and install sound-muffling materials. — Ilana Arougheti june 26, Kansas City Star, 26 June 2026 The sound-muffling fabrics, carpets, ceiling tiles, tablecloths and rugs that used to decorate restaurants are deemed too stuffy these days, and even upholstered booths are being replaced by more barebones tables — and lots of them, close together. — Allyson Reedy, Denver Post, 13 May 2026 Their flexible design fits snugly into ears, muffling plane engine sounds and loud conversations. — Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026 Acidification reduces the pH of seawater, which also diminishes sound absorption, so the stain of ship’s engine noise spreads further, muffling the songs of humpbacks and the codas of sperm whales. — Literary Hub, 9 Apr. 2026 The timeless linen is backed with a white blackout liner to block out as much light as possible without adding unnecessary bulk to your window frames while muffling the sound from your street. — Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 31 Mar. 2026 Ideal for bedrooms, nurseries, apartments with older doors, and homes with hardwood or tile floors, this $4 draft stopper can stop the chilly air from entering, while also muffling outside noises and blocking dust, pollen, and pests. — Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Feb. 2026 Kubiak found that easy to navigate with a conservative game plan in the season finale at the 49ers with a rushing attack that had 39 attempts for 180 yards while the Seahawks’ defense was muffling the opposition. — Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2026 The active noise cancellation actually blocks sounds, instead of offering that fake muffling nonsense. — PC Magazine, 18 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muffling
  1. muting
  2. wrapping
  3. stifling
  4. enveloping
  5. shrouding
  6. enclosing
  7. encasing
Verb
  • Among several solutions such as time limits and muting notifications during certain hours, the changes include giving teens the option to choose to view a non-algorithmic social media feed that isn’t personalized.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • During the third act, in a cunning effect, when anyone picks up a phone, the screen’s contents are displayed on a wall as the lights fade, muting the friends onstage.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
Definition of muting
Verb
  • And Bryan is wrapping his model in gray and pink chiffon because … there is no because.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • RoboCop extends Stevens’ relationship with Amazon MGM Studios after recently wrapping production on a series adaptation of John le Carré’s Legacy of Spies for the studio’s platform MGM+ and BBC.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of wrapping
Verb
  • Mostly sunny skies are then expected through the work week, with stifling temperatures by mid-week, the forecast shows.
    — Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Several horses collapsed from heat exhaustion after competing in stifling heat in the middle of the day during the cross-country phase of the eventing.
    — Danielle Rossingh, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of stifling
Verb
  • Save this for cold weather to truly savor its rich, enveloping smokiness.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The blur outside becomes enveloping and unfathomable; the universe inside the car evolves as the friends invent tension-defusing rituals to keep from screaming at one another.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of enveloping
Verb
  • Congressional leaders, wired to protect their own and afraid of upsetting their narrow margins, are famous for shrouding ethics investigations in secrecy and dragging them out for years.
    — Mary Ellen Klas, Twin Cities, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Advertisement Israel has bombed oil depots in Tehran, shrouding the city in toxic black smoke, and attacked Iran’s South Pars gas field.
    — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 1 Apr. 2026
Definition of shrouding
Verb
  • Like the work of other Palestinian artists of his generation, Mansour’s paintings helped carry the dreams and testimony of his people beyond the walls enclosing Gaza and the West Bank.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Homes can be visually inspected for compliance from the outside, and enclosing the ground level area for living space after the home is constructed and approved for occupancy would draw a reverse work order.
    — Adam Van Brimmer, AJC.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of enclosing
Verb
  • Little Miner’s version isn’t so much a riff as an homage, with a flour tortilla encasing queso sauce, tortilla chips, chipotle aioli, lettuce, tomato, raw onion, sour cream and a choice of proteins.
    — Warren Rojas, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The spigots serve as injection ports, where crews can pump grout behind the tunnel wall, with the goal of coating and encasing the entire tunnel lining under the Newtown Creek in a waterproof layer, filling any cracks along the way.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 19 July 2026
Definition of encasing

Browse Nearby Words

muffles
muffling
muffs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Muffling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muffling. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All