stiff

[ stif ]

adjective

, stiff·er, stiff·est.

1. rigid or firm; difficult or impossible to bend or flex:

   a stiff collar.

   Synonyms: unyielding, unbending

2. not moving or working easily:

   The motor was a little stiff from the cold weather.

3. (of a person or animal) not supple; moving with difficulty, as from cold, age, exhaustion, or injury.
4. strong; forceful; powerful: The fighter threw a stiff right to his opponent's jaw.

   stiff winds;

   The fighter threw a stiff right to his opponent's jaw.

5. strong or potent to the taste or system, as a beverage or medicine:

   He was cold and wanted a good stiff drink.

6. resolute; firm in purpose; unyielding; stubborn.

   Synonyms: unrelenting, pertinacious, obstinate, resolved

7. stubbornly continued:

   a stiff battle.

8. firm against any tendency to decrease, as stock-market prices.
9. rigidly formal; cold and unfriendly, as people, manners, or proceedings.

   Synonyms: prim, constrained, reserved

10. lacking ease and grace; awkward:

    a stiff style of writing.

    Synonyms: inelegant, graceless

11. excessively regular or formal, as a design; not graceful in form or arrangement.
12. laborious or difficult, as a task.
13. severe or harsh, as a penalty or demand.
14. excessive; unusually high or great:

    $50 is pretty stiff to pay for that.

15. firm from tension; taut:

    to keep a stiff rein.

16. relatively firm in consistency, as semisolid matter; thick:

    a stiff jelly;

    a stiff batter.

17. dense or compact; not friable:

    stiff soil.

18. Nautical. (of a vessel) having a high resistance to rolling; stable ( crank ² ).
19. Scot. and North England. sturdy, stout, or strongly built.
20. Australian Slang. out of luck; unfortunate.

noun

1. Slang.
   1. a dead body; corpse.
   2. a formal or priggish person.
   3. a poor tipper; tightwad.
   4. a drunk.
2. Slang.
   1. a fellow:

      lucky stiff; poor stiff.

   2. a tramp; hobo.
   3. a laborer.
3. Slang.
   1. a forged check.
   2. a promissory note or bill of exchange.
   3. a letter or note, especially if secret or smuggled.
4. Slang. a contestant, especially a racehorse, sure to lose.

adverb

1. in or to a firm or rigid state:

   The wet shirt was frozen stiff.

2. completely, intensely, or extremely: We're scared stiff.

   I'm bored stiff by these lectures.

   We're scared stiff.

verb (used with object)

1. Slang. to fail or refuse to tip (a waiter, porter, etc.).
2. Slang. to cheat; swindle; do out of:

   The company stiffed me out of a week's pay.

stiff

/ stɪf /

adjective

1. not easily bent; rigid; inflexible
2. not working or moving easily or smoothly

   a stiff handle

3. difficult to accept in its severity or harshness

   a stiff punishment

4. moving with pain or difficulty; not supple

   a stiff neck

5. difficult; arduous

   a stiff climb

6. unrelaxed or awkward; formal
7. firmer than liquid in consistency; thick or viscous
8. powerful; strong

   a stiff breeze

   a stiff drink

9. excessively high

   a stiff price

10. nautical (of a sailing vessel) relatively resistant to heeling or rolling Compare tender 1
11. lacking grace or attractiveness
12. stubborn or stubbornly maintained

    a stiff fight

13. obsolete.
    tightly stretched; taut
14. slang.
    unlucky
15. slang.
    intoxicated
16. stiff upper lip
    See lip
17. stiff with informal.
    amply provided with

noun

1. slang.
   a corpse
2. slang.
   anything thought to be a loser or a failure; flop

adverb

1. completely or utterly

   frozen stiff

   bored stiff

verb

1. slang.
   intr to fail

   the film stiffed

2. slang.
   tr to cheat or swindle
3. slang.
   tr to kill

Derived Forms

• ˈstiffish, adjective
• ˈstiffness, noun
• ˈstiffly, adverb

Other Words From

• stiff·ish adjective
• stiff·ly adverb
• stiff·ness noun
• o·ver·stiff adjective
• o·ver·stiff·ly adverb
• sem·i·stiff adjective
• sem·i·stiff·ly adverb
• un·stiff adjective
• un·stiff·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of stiff¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English stif, stijf, Old English stīf; cognate with German steif, Old Norse stífr; akin to Latin stīpāre “to crowd, press” ( steeve ¹( def ), stifle ¹ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of stiff¹

Old English stīf; related to Old Norse stīfla to dam up, Middle Low German stīf stiff, Latin stīpēs wooden post, stīpāre to press

Idioms and Phrases

• bore to death (stiff)
• keep a stiff upper lip
• scare out of one's wits (stiff)

Synonym Study

See firm ¹.

Example Sentences

The new law will require shell companies to provide the names of their owners or face stiff penalties and jail sentences.

From Washington Post

Opt to power such skis with a stiffer freetour boot, and you might be able to squeeze out a bit more downhill performance.

From Outside Online

The controversy over trigger pointsYou may refer to them as knots, but those tender, stiff, and often painful areas you most likely have on your shoulders, neck, and back are technically known as trigger points.

From Popular-Science

For the first time, shell companies will be required to provide the names of their owners or face stiff penalties and jail sentences.

From Fortune

Social video platforms’ contest for creatorsIn the same way that Netflix faces its stiffest competition yet in 2021, so does YouTube.

From Digiday

Ney said McDonnell needs to “keep a stiff lip” and stay in close contact with family members.

From The Daily Beast

Her pallid young face, brow sweating with fear and pain, yet resolute and stiff with sorrow, makes you want to cry.

From The Daily Beast

FDR wanted to project easy grace rather than stiff formality—especially when communicating complicated matters.

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps, though, it is best that the big awful secret remains hidden from the public, out of Working Stiff and everywhere else.

From The Daily Beast

He is in his late forties; intelligent, people say, but stiff and restrained, an eternal bachelor.

From The Daily Beast

But there was a breeze blowing, a choppy, stiff wind that whipped the water into froth.

From Project Gutenberg

MacRae's heels clicked together and his right hand went up in the stiff military salute.

From Project Gutenberg

I kept a stiff backbone for a while, but presently a futile rage against circumstances bubbled up and boiled over.

From Project Gutenberg

He braced himself unconsciously, and after Zeal's next words did not relax his body, although his lips turned white and stiff.

From Project Gutenberg

If he had cut her, he would have shown less contempt than in that stiff raising of the hat.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• brisk
• excessive
• extreme
• hard
• harsh
• heavy
• rigorous
• sharp
• steep
• strict
• stringent
• strong
• vigorous