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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
muffle
verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a muffled cry (=that cannot be heard clearly)
▪ I thought I heard a muffled cry from somewhere in the building.
a muffled explosion (=one that is not heard very clearly)
▪ We could just make out a muffled explosion from deep inside the mine.
a muffled sound (=not clear)
▪ Now there were muffled sounds of movement.
a muffled/stifled scream (=made quieter, for example by putting a hand over someone’s mouth)
▪ No one heard her muffled screams.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
up
▪ Luiza and Freddi were there, Luiza muffled up in a huge and unflattering beaver lamb coat that had seen better days.
▪ It had been dark, and the murderer muffled up.
▪ It was still very cold and everyone was muffled up in coats and scarves and gloves.
■ NOUN
sound
▪ The snow drifted down, muffling the sounds of the party, the fireworks spluttering, falling damply into the dark night.
▪ He listened to the muffled sound waver and fall in pitch, like a faraway siren.
▪ The volume of the music muffled the sounds of the attack, and no-one heard her screams for help.
▪ From the other side of the wall, she could hear the low muffled sounds of the television in the next room.
▪ This method serves a dual function - it will absorb irregularities in the existing floorboards, and also muffle sound.
▪ If Fen entered the galley for any reason, the curtain was not sufficient barrier to muffle the sound of sobbing.
▪ She laughed hysterically, jamming her fingers into her mouth to muffle the sound.
voice
▪ Her voice was muffled when she crawled under the oilcloth-covered table to search for Quimper bits.
▪ Clayt did not turn to talk to Sinnett either; but his voice was not muffled.
▪ Connors's voice was muffled but loud in the storm.
▪ His voice was muffled by the glass.
▪ The voice remains muffled and terse.
■ VERB
hear
▪ I could hear muffled conversation in the background.
▪ Miguel could hear distant sirens, muffled screams, the chink and crackle of falling glass.
▪ From under the house we heard some muffled taps and scraping.
▪ From the other side of the wall, she could hear the low muffled sounds of the television in the next room.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ He dragged her into the car, putting his hand over her mouth to muffle her screams.
▪ John's voice was muffled by the door, and I couldn't tell what he was saying.
▪ The children were muffled up in thick coats.
▪ The falling snow muffled all sounds.
▪ The snow muffled the sound of the traffic.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ They might muffle his body and cover his face as they would, but they could not hide Harry Talvace from Aelis.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Muffle

Muffle \Muf"fle\ (m[u^]f"f'l), n. The bare end of the nose between the nostrils; -- used esp. of ruminants.

Muffle

Muffle \Muf"fle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Muffled; p. pr. & vb. n. Muffling.] [Cf. F. moufle a mitten, LL. muffula, OD. moffel a muff. See Muff.]

  1. To wrap up in something that conceals or protects; to wrap, as the face and neck, in thick and disguising folds; hence, to conceal or cover the face of; to envelop; to inclose; -- often with up.
    --South.

    The face lies muffled up within the garment.
    --Addison.

    He muffled with a cloud his mournful eyes.
    --Dryden.

    Muffled up in darkness and superstition.
    --Arbuthnot.

  2. To prevent seeing, or hearing, or speaking, by wraps bound about the head; to blindfold; to deafen.

  3. To wrap or fit with something that dulls or deadens the sound of; as, to muffle the strings of a drum, or that part of an oar which rests in the rowlock; to muffle the exhaust of a motor vehicle.

Muffle

Muffle \Muf"fle\, v. i. [Cf. F. maffle, mumble, D. moffelen.] To speak indistinctly, or without clear articulation.

Muffle

Muffle \Muf"fle\, n. [F. moufle, prop., a mitten, from the resemblance in shape. See Muffle, v. t., Muff.]

  1. Anything with which another thing, as an oar or drum, is muffled; also, a boxing glove; a muff.

  2. (Metal.) An earthenware compartment or oven, often shaped like a half cylinder, used in furnaces to protect objects heated from the direct action of the fire, as in scorification of ores, cupellation of ore buttons, etc.

  3. (Ceramics) A small oven for baking and fixing the colors of painted or printed pottery, without exposing the pottery to the flames of the furnace or kiln.

  4. A pulley block containing several sheaves.
    --Knight.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
muffle

early 15c., "to cover or wrap (something) to conceal or protect," perhaps from Middle French mofler "to stuff," from Old French moufle "thick glove, muff" (compare Old French enmoufle "wrapped up"); see muff (n.). Meaning "wrap something up to deaden sound" first recorded 1761. Related: Muffled; muffling.

muffle

"thing that muffles," 1560s, from muffle (v.).

Wiktionary
muffle

n. 1 Anything that mutes or deadens sound. 2 A warm piece of clothing for the hands. 3 A kiln or furnace, often electric, with no direct flames (a muffle furnace) 4 The bare end of the nose between the nostrils, especially in ruminants. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To wrap (a person, face etc.) in fabric or another covering, for warmth or protection; often with ''up''. 2 (context transitive English) To wrap up or cover (a source of noise) in order to deaden the sound. 3 (context transitive English) To mute or deaden (a sound etc.). 4 (context intransitive dated English) To speak indistinctly, or without clear articulation. 5 (context transitive dated English) To prevent seeing, or hearing, or speaking, by wraps bound about the head; to blindfold; to deafen.

WordNet
muffle

n. a kiln with an inner chamber for firing things at a low temperature

muffle
  1. v. conceal or hide; "smother a yawn"; "muffle one's anger"; "strangle a yawn" [syn: smother, stifle, strangle, repress]

  2. deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping [syn: mute, dull, damp, dampen, tone down]

Wikipedia

Usage examples of "muffle".

They all shuffle, all these strange lonely children of God, these mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives whose noisy aberrations are safely muffled now by drugs.

The door hinged smoothly shut behind me, muffling the music, and a body thudded against the frosted glass ahead with an abruptness that made me twitch.

Skin acrawl with urgency, Taverik strode down to the beached boat and muffled the badly mismatched oars.

The rods were already coming out of the core as the muffled sound of automatic rifle fire sounded from the lower levels of the aft compartment.

He tried to choke it back, but the muffled croak was enough to bring Alec from his alcove.

Suddenly it jogged to one side and Alec heard the sound of something heavy falling over, immediately followed by a muffled curse.

Grinning in silent triumph, Alec lifted out a leather folder and heard the muffled crackle of parchment.

The muffled sound of hooves on the dirt trail lulled Angelina into a near sleep.

It was down one of the endlessly dividing data branches growing out of that single muffled reference to the set of synthetic genes that had been derived from the embryonic switching mechanisms of the axolotl and the fearsome dragonfly nymph.

Its dead black eyes saw Artek, and the parrot opened its beakless mouth in a muffled squawk of alarm.

At midnight two boat-loads of determined men, rowing with muffled oars moved silently out from the blockader towards the beached vessel.

Recalling how Blu had kissed her and touched her, she pressed her face into her pillow to muffle a groan.

Muffled clatters from the side stairs, heard only by Margaret and The Shadow, were proof that Dana Brye had fled.

Dodds clacking keyboard sounded more natural than the muffled burbling of the funnel or the squeals and creaks of the coaster.

I was curious to know what the results would be, and had not been at the place appointed more than a quarter of an hour when she came towards me, her head muffled in a hood.