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Definition of "stiff" []

  • Difficult to bend; rigid. (adjective)
  • Not moving or operating easily or freely; resistant: a stiff hinge. (adjective)
  • Lacking ease or comfort of movement; not limber: a stiff neck. (adjective)
  • Drawn tightly; taut. (adjective)
  • Rigidly formal. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "stiff" in a sentence
  • "The walls were full of photos in cheap plastic frames: A young boy held a net of frogs, his expression stiff and sorrowful; the same boy stood at the edge of a cliff at sunset with his arms spread open toward the camera."
  • "A flexible bit is one in which the axles have their points of junction broad and smooth,141 so as to bend easily; and where the several parts fitting round the axles, being large of aperture and not too closely packed, have greater flexibility; whereas, if the several parts do not slide to and fro with ease, and play into each other, that is what we call a stiff bit."
  • "Ken, I want to begin with you because you have said time and time again right here on this show that Lindsay needs what you call stiff punishment to really teach her a lesson."