stiff

[ stif ]

/ stɪf /

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

SYNONYMS FOR stiff

1 unbending, unyielding.

6 unrelenting, resolved, obstinate, pertinacious.

9 reserved, constrained, starched, prim.

10 graceless, inelegant.

See synonyms for stiff on Thesaurus.com

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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

stiffish, adjectivestiffly, adverbstiffness, 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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for stiff

Byrnes and his collaborators have found that the thin patagium is rich in muscles, and some parts are stiffer than others.
On a cool night in Malaysia, scientists track mysterious colugos across the treetops|Yao-Hua Law|November 20, 2020|Science News
Maps is another place where Apple’s got some pretty stiff competition from Google.
macOS Big Sur is now available|Brian Heater|November 12, 2020|TechCrunch
Colman keeps a stiff upper lip, even as the role begins to shift out from under her.
The Charles and Diana saga weighs heavy on ‘The Crown,’ but Gillian Anderson’s Thatcher is a triumph|Hank Stuever|November 12, 2020|Washington Post
By this April, SoftBank admitted that it was on track to take stiff losses from its Vision Fund portfolio, which, when combined with other investing losses, pushed the company into a rare loss for the year.
How SoftBank’s Vision Fund turned losses into gold this summer|Alex Wilhelm|November 12, 2020|TechCrunch

There’s an old Polish woman, for instance, whose stiff, territorial energy I can feel whenever I show up to Gaston Park the day after a rain.
Mushroom Hunting at the End of the World|Danny Palumbo|November 12, 2020|Eater
Early signs are often movement-related, including tremors, stiffness, and problems with walking.
The Burden Robin Williams Carried: Diagnosed With Parkinson’s and Depression|Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad|August 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some senior Whitehall sources believed that there was an early “stiffness” between the Queen and Mrs. Thatcher.
Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth’s Complicated Relationship|Andrew Marr|April 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Your miner friends notice the stiffness of your walk and chaff you about it.
Thatcher's Economic Legacy|Megan McArdle|April 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But after a few minutes with him, you notice the stiffness and formality are gone.
The New, Improved John Kerry|Sandra McElwaine|November 9, 2009|DAILY BEAST
"There is no stiffness about the immortals," laughed the Sun-god.
The Enchanted Castle|E. Nesbit
He does not ask to have his boots laced up nor complain of their stiffness.
A Poor Man's House|Stephen Sydney Reynolds
My hand shook so, owing to the stiffness of my night-cap last night before I went to roost.
Tales of the Wonder Club, Volume II|Alexander Huth
Hungerford rose with the stiffness of the night, and coming to Stover, took him by the shoulders.
Stover at Yale|Owen Johnson
Sometimes the bodies of people who are struck are as stiff as iron and retain their stiffness.
Thunder and Lightning|Camille Flammarion

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

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)

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stiff

adjective, stiff·er, stiff·est.

noun

adverb

verb (used with object)

SYNONYMS FOR stiff

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Origin of stiff

synonym study for stiff

OTHER WORDS FROM stiff

Example sentences from the Web for stiff

British Dictionary definitions for stiff

adjective

noun

adverb

verb

Derived forms of stiff

Word Origin for stiff

Idioms and Phrases with stiff

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

stiff

adjective, stiff·er, stiff·est.

noun

adverb

verb (used with object)

SYNONYMS FOR stiff

QUIZZES

LEARN THE SPANISH WORDS FOR THESE COMMON ANIMALS!

Origin of stiff

synonym study for stiff

OTHER WORDS FROM stiff

Words related to stiff

Example sentences from the Web for stiff

British Dictionary definitions for stiff

adjective

noun

adverb

verb

Derived forms of stiff

Word Origin for stiff

Idioms and Phrases with stiff