stiffness has definitions from the field of physics
1
[ noun ] (physics) the physical property of being inflexible and hard to bend

Used in print

(Robert L. Duncan, The Voice of Strangers....)

His arm had been giving him some trouble and Rector was not enough of a medical expert to determine whether it had healed improperly or whether Hino was simply rebelling against the tedious work in the print_shop , using the stiffness in his arm as an excuse .

Related terms

inelasticity

2
[ noun ] the property of moving with pain or difficulty

Examples

"he awoke with a painful stiffness in his neck"

Related terms

awkwardness

3
[ noun ] the inelegance of someone stiff and unrelaxed (as by embarrassment)

Related terms

inelegance rusticity

4
[ noun ] excessive sternness

Examples

"severity of character" "the harshness of his punishment was inhuman" "the rigors of boot camp"

Related terms

sternness

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