stiffen
verb (used with object)
to make stiff.
were stiffening
-
past progressiveof stiffen.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And last week upper lips were stiffening again.
From Time Magazine Archive
The flexible stems and shoots thrust aside by Sticky’s fall were stiffening and spreading back into place.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
Rivulets of fire began to run up and down his side; the cords in his neck were stiffening.
From The Puppet Crown by Harold MacGrath
She felt that his coldness was making her cold, that her arms were stiffening.
From The Son of His Mother by Clara Viebig
Hundreds of thousands of Czecho-Slovaks and Jugo-Slavs had joined the enemy, and some were stiffening the Piave front.
From A Short History of the Great War by A. F. (Albert Frederick) Pollard
