1
[ verb ] become stiff or stiffer

Examples

"He stiffened when he saw his boss enter the room"

Used in print

(Idwal Jones, "Santa Cruz Run"...)

A jigger of dry Sherry follows , and as the mixture stiffens , in go a_hundred of the little oysters .

(Anita Loos, No Mother to Guide Her....)

He stiffened and rose to his feet .

Related terms

loosen change rigidify stiffening

2
[ verb ] make stiff or stiffer

Examples

"Stiffen the cream by adding gelatine"

Used in print

(Peter J. White, "Report on Laos"...)

The Pathet_Lao , stiffened by Communist Veterans from neighboring North Viet_Nam , were supplied by Soviet aircraft .

Related terms

loosen change rigidify buckram starch

3
[ verb ] restrict

Synonyms

tighten_up tighten constrain

Examples

"Tighten the rules" "stiffen the regulations"

Related terms

restrict

*

Rhymes with

stephen toughen griffon syphon siphon soften acetaminophen deafen fun muffin often tamoxifen hyphen orphan ibuprofen dolphin paraffin xenophon

Phonetic and Homophones

S T IH1 F AH0 N

Similar Spelling

stiffener stiffened Steffen stiffening steffens Steffenson Steffensen stiffness Stefan Stefani Steven Stefano Stefany Steffan Stefania Stefanie Stefanik stuffing Stephen steuben stevens stipend steepen Stefanski Stephens Stefaniak Steffanie

To share this definition click "text" (Facebook, Twitter) or "link" (blog, mail) then paste
text link