stiff

[ stif ]

/ stɪf /

adjective, stiff·er, stiff·est.

rigid or firm; difficult or impossible to bend or flex: a stiff collar.

not moving or working easily: The motor was a little stiff from the cold weather.

(of a person or animal) not supple; moving with difficulty, as from cold, age, exhaustion, or injury.

strong; forceful; powerful: stiff winds; The fighter threw a stiff right to his opponent's jaw.

strong or potent to the taste or system, as a beverage or medicine: He was cold and wanted a good stiff drink.

resolute; firm in purpose; unyielding; stubborn.

stubbornly continued: a stiff battle.

firm against any tendency to decrease, as stock-market prices.

rigidly formal; cold and unfriendly, as people, manners, or proceedings.

lacking ease and grace; awkward: a stiff style of writing.

excessively regular or formal, as a design; not graceful in form or arrangement.

laborious or difficult, as a task.

severe or harsh, as a penalty or demand.

excessive; unusually high or great: $50 is pretty stiff to pay for that.

firm from tension; taut: to keep a stiff rein.

relatively firm in consistency, as semisolid matter; thick: a stiff jelly; a stiff batter.

dense or compact; not friable: stiff soil.

Nautical. (of a vessel) having a high resistance to rolling; stable (opposed to crank²).

Scot. and North England. sturdy, stout, or strongly built.

Australian Slang. out of luck; unfortunate.

noun

Slang.

a dead body; corpse.
a formal or priggish person.
a poor tipper; tightwad.
a drunk.

Slang.

a fellow: lucky stiff; poor stiff.
a tramp; hobo.
a laborer.

Slang.

a forged check.
a promissory note or bill of exchange.
a letter or note, especially if secret or smuggled.

Slang. a contestant, especially a racehorse, sure to lose.

adverb

in or to a firm or rigid state: The wet shirt was frozen stiff.

completely, intensely, or extremely: I'm bored stiff by these lectures. We're scared stiff.

verb (used with object)

Slang. to fail or refuse to tip (a waiter, porter, etc.).

Slang. to cheat; gyp; do out of: The company stiffed me out of a week's pay.

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anchorite

a granular metamorphic rock.

a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.

a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.

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Origin of stiff

before 1000; Middle English (adj. and adv.); Old English stīf; cognate with German steif; akin to stifle¹, steeve¹

SYNONYMS FOR stiff

1 unbending, unyielding. See firm¹.

6 unrelenting, resolved, obstinate, pertinacious.

9 reserved, constrained, starched, prim.

10 graceless, inelegant.

OTHER WORDS FROM stiff

stiff·ish, adjectivestiff·ly, adverbstiff·ness, nouno·ver·stiff, adjective

o·ver·stiff·ly, adverbo·ver·stiff·ness, nounsem·i·stiff, adjectivesem·i·stiff·ly, adverbsem·i·stiff·ness, nounun·stiff, adjectiveun·stiff·ly, adverbun·stiff·ness, noun

Words nearby stiff

sticky-fingered, stickybeak, stiction, stiegel, stieglitz, stiff, stiff as a board, stiff upper lip, stiff-arm, stiff-man syndrome, stiff-necked

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for stiffer

Stiffer corporate income tax: This one I imagine Democrats would like to do.
After the Fiscal Cliff: What do Democrats Want?|Megan McArdle|January 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The longer you cook a cranberry sauce, the more pectin is released and liquid is evaporated, and the stiffer the result will be.
Sam Sifton’s Thanksgiving Recipes|Sam Sifton|November 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The wind freshened in the afternoon, raising a stiffer sea and trying the boat and me severely.
The Sea-Wolf|Jack London
In these regions the soil is a clay loam from several inches to a foot deep resting upon a stiffer and more tenacious clay.
The Grapes of New York|U. P. Hedrick

Now I am sure you couldn't have made it any stiffer in your own rooms.
The Woman in Black|Edmund Clerihew Bentley
Tough kneading he shall find it, and stiffer clay than ever yet was moulded, or my name is not Salome Owen.
Vashti|Augusta J. Evans Wilson
Hundreds of men toiling and sweating over stiff canvas and stiffer ropes.
Joe Strong The Boy Fire-Eater|Vance Barnum

British Dictionary definitions for stiffer

stiff

/ (stɪf) /

adjective

not easily bent; rigid; inflexible

not working or moving easily or smoothlya stiff handle

difficult to accept in its severity or harshnessa stiff punishment

moving with pain or difficulty; not supplea stiff neck

difficult; arduousa stiff climb

unrelaxed or awkward; formal

firmer than liquid in consistency; thick or viscous

powerful; stronga stiff breeze; a stiff drink

excessively higha stiff price

nautical (of a sailing vessel) relatively resistant to heeling or rollingCompare tender 1 (def. 11)

lacking grace or attractiveness

stubborn or stubbornly maintaineda stiff fight

obsolete tightly stretched; taut

slang, mainly Australian unlucky

slang intoxicated

stiff upper lip See lip (def. 9)

stiff with informal amply provided with

noun

slang a corpse

slang anything thought to be a loser or a failure; flop

adverb

completely or utterlybored stiff; frozen stiff

verb

(intr) slang to failthe film stiffed

(tr) slang, mainly US to cheat or swindle

(tr) slang to kill

Derived forms of stiff

stiffish, adjectivestiffly, adverbstiffness, noun

Word Origin for stiff

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with stiffer

stiff

In addition to the idioms beginning with stiff

stiff as a board
stiff upper lip

also see:

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

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stiff

adjective, stiff·er, stiff·est.

noun

adverb

verb (used with object)

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Origin of stiff

SYNONYMS FOR stiff

OTHER WORDS FROM stiff

Words nearby stiff

Example sentences from the Web for stiffer

British Dictionary definitions for stiffer

adjective

noun

adverb

verb

Derived forms of stiff

Word Origin for stiff

Idioms and Phrases with stiffer

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

stiff

adjective, stiff·er, stiff·est.

noun

adverb

verb (used with object)

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Origin of stiff

SYNONYMS FOR stiff

OTHER WORDS FROM stiff

Words nearby stiff

Words related to stiffer

Example sentences from the Web for stiffer

British Dictionary definitions for stiffer

adjective

noun

adverb

verb

Derived forms of stiff

Word Origin for stiff

Idioms and Phrases with stiffer