Nearly stiff, went ahead nearly suffocated (7)

I believe the answer is:

stifled

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'nearly suffocated' is the definition.
'stifled' can be an answer for 'suffocated' (I've seen this before). I'm unsure of the 'nearly' bit.

'nearly stiff went ahead' is the wordplay.
'nearly' means to remove the last letter.
'went ahead' becomes 'led' (led the way).
'stiff' with its last letter removed is 'stif'.
'stif'+'led'='STIFLED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for stifled that I've seen before include "Suppressed; suffocated" , "Having smothered" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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