muffle

muffle — verb

1. to stop a sound from being clearly heard, usually by covering or blocking its so

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to stop a sound from being clearly heard, usually by covering or blocking its source

Example

The thick walls muffled the noise from the street outside.

muffle + noise as direct object

Zuri covered her mouth to muffle her cough during the meeting.

Common collocations
  • muffle a sound
  • muffle noise
  • muffle a cough
  • muffle footsteps
  • muffled voice
Synonyms
  • deaden

    stronger — suggests making the sound almost disappear entirely

  • dampen

    gentler — reduces volume without fully blocking it

  • soften

    focuses on making a sound less harsh, not necessarily quieter

Antonyms
  • amplify

    to make a sound louder or stronger

Grammar Patterns

muffle + noun phrase (sound, noise, cough, voice)

Common Mistakes

I muffled the alarm clock.
I muffled the sound of the alarm clock.
muffle targets the sound itself, not the object making it.

2. to reduce the strength or intensity of something such as light, heat, or a feeli

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to reduce the strength or intensity of something such as light, heat, or a feeling so that it is less powerful

Example

The heavy curtains muffled the bright light coming through the window.

Niran took a long breath to muffle his growing frustration.

muffle + emotion noun (frustration, anger, excitement)

Common collocations
  • muffle the light
  • muffle the heat
  • muffle the pain
  • muffle frustration
Synonyms
  • diminish

    more general — can apply to any quality or quantity

  • reduce

    simpler and broader in meaning

  • moderate

    implies bringing to a reasonable level, not just lowering

Antonyms
  • intensify

    to make something stronger or more powerful

Grammar Patterns

muffle + noun phrase (light, heat, pain, frustration)

Usage Note

Commonly used with physical phenomena (light, heat, sound) and, less often, with strong emotions to mean 'make less intense' — distinguish from sense 4, which means 'prevent from being expressed at all.'

3. to cover yourself with thick or warm clothing in order to protect your body from

3.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to cover yourself with thick or warm clothing in order to protect your body from very cold weather

Example

The children were muffled up in coats and scarves for the snow.

passive: be muffled up in [clothing]

Henrik muffled himself up in a thick winter jacket before going out.

Common collocations
  • muffle up
  • muffled up in
  • muffle oneself
  • muffled against the cold
Synonyms
  • wrap up

    informal, more common in everyday speech

  • bundle up

    informal, similar meaning to wrap up warmly

Antonyms
  • uncover

    to remove covering or clothing

Grammar Patterns

muffle oneself up / be muffled up (in + clothing)

Usage Note

Almost always used reflexively ('muffle yourself up') or in the passive ('muffled up'). The particle 'up' is very common with this sense.

Common Mistakes

I muffled my coat.
I muffled myself up in my coat.
muffle needs a reflexive pronoun or passive form with this meaning, not a direct object of clothing.

4. to stop something such as emotions, opinions, or information from being expresse

4.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to stop something such as emotions, opinions, or information from being expressed, heard, or spread

Example

The government tried to muffle reports about the protest from the media.

muffle + reports/news as direct object

Rafael could not muffle his excitement when he heard the news.

Common collocations
  • muffle reports
  • muffle criticism
  • muffle excitement
  • muffle disappointment
  • muffle dissent
Synonyms
  • suppress

    stronger and more formal; implies active effort to stop something

  • stifle

    suggests preventing something from developing or being expressed

  • conceal

    focuses on hiding, not necessarily stopping the thing itself

Antonyms
  • express

    to show or communicate a feeling or opinion

  • reveal

    to make something known that was hidden

Grammar Patterns

muffle + noun phrase (emotions, information, reports)

Usage Note

Often used with nouns referring to information, opinions, reports, or emotions that someone wants to keep hidden or unexpressed. Distinguish from sense 2, which means 'make less intense' rather than 'prevent expression entirely.'

Common Mistakes

She muffled her tears.
She tried to muffle her sobs.
muffle is used for audible expressions (sobs, cries) or things that can be spread (reports, opinions), not for visible signs of emotion like tears.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Muffle, deaden, dampen, soften, and quieten all describe reducing a sound, but each has a different method and result. Muffle suggests covering or wrapping something so the sound is blocked and unclear — like muffling a cough with your hand. Deaden is stronger and implies making the sound almost disappear completely, as when thick walls deaden outside noise. Dampen is gentler and means to reduce the volume slightly without blocking it entirely; you might dampen a loud party's noise by closing the windows. Soften focuses on making a sound less harsh or sharp, as when curtains soften the echo in an empty room. Quieten (British) or quiet (American) simply means to make quiet, with no suggestion of how. For example: 'She muffled the baby's cries by wrapping him in a blanket' vs 'He dampened the TV sound so his roommate could sleep.'

deadendampensoften ↗quieten ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • barely muffled
  • partly muffled
  • completely muffled
  • effectively muffled

Prepositions

Etymology

Old FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Muffle entered English in the 1400s from Middle English 'mufflen', meaning 'to wrap up or cover the face'. This probably came from Old French 'emoufler', which is related to 'moufle' — a thick mitten or glove. The original idea of wrapping to protect from cold gradually developed into the sound-deadening meaning by the 1700s.