stiff

[ stif ]

/ stɪf /

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See synonyms for: stiff / stiffed / stiffing / stiffs on Thesaurus.com

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; swindle; do out of: The company stiffed me out of a week's pay.

OTHER WORDS FOR stiff

1 unbending, unyielding.

6 resolved, obstinate, pertinacious; unrelenting.

9 reserved, constrained, starched, prim.

10 graceless, inelegant.

See synonyms for stiff on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of stiff

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” (see steeve¹, stifle¹)

synonym study for stiff

1. See firm¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM stiff

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

o·ver·stiff·ly, adverbsem·i·stiff, adjectivesem·i·stiff·ly, adverbun·stiff, adjectiveun·stiff·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stiff in a sentence

After the U.S., China and other world powers imposed stiffer sanctions on Iran in 2009, Li “went underground.”
Tehran’s Chinese Missile Man|Jefferson Morley|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All told, Obama faces a challenge stiffer than passing health care.
Obama Needs a Friend in Congress—Like Bush Had|Lloyd Green|September 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Black women receive stiffer and longer punishment than white women for drug-related offenses as well.
I Don’t Watch ‘Orange Is the New Black’|Allison Samuels|August 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
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 loose black volcanic earth (terra pulla) was easier to work than the stiffer Roman soil, and gave three or four crops a year.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various
But jest this afternoon they gut ketched by the frost, an' now there they be stiffer'n stakes.
A Budget of Christmas Tales by Charles Dickens and Others|Various
Season with salt, pepper, and butter, and add sufficient milk to make a paste that is a trifle stiffer than for mashed potatoes.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 3|Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
A good plan is to allow it to become very cold, for then it will be much stiffer and may be handled more easily.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4|Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
He was a genuine eighteenth-century exquisite, rather stiffer than the French, maybe, but completely in the spirit.
Sea and Sardinia|D. H. Lawrence

British Dictionary definitions for stiff

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with stiff

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)

stiff

OTHER WORDS FOR stiff

Origin of stiff

synonym study for stiff

OTHER WORDS FROM stiff

Words related to stiff

How to use stiff in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stiff

Derived forms of stiff

Word Origin for stiff

Other Idioms and Phrases with stiff