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Showing results for stiffen. Search instead for restiffen.
Definitions

stiffen

[stif-uhn] / ˈstɪf ən /


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.

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Your leg also appears to stiffen more when you land, intensifying the jolt, according to the authors of the Nature study.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Depending on the situation, the material can bend, buckle, or stiffen in different ways, all without electronics, sensors, or active control systems.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

As these weaken and stiffen over time it can affect walking, talking, eating and breathing.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026

She has also vowed to stiffen prison sentences and to impose a state of emergency in areas worst hit by crime.

From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026

I thought I saw him stiffen for a moment, as though in sudden pain.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

The biggest reason is that our maximum heart rate slows with age, and the heart muscle stiffens, reducing its pumping effectiveness.

From Barron's ● May 23, 2026

This arrangement stiffens the chain of bones and allows it to transmit very high-pitched sounds more efficiently, a characteristic often seen in animals such as echolocating bats that can detect ultrasound.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2026

Last year, Alibaba announced a plan to fold food-delivery and online-travel services into its e-commerce unit as competition stiffens in the Chinese market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026

As Martin, Charles stiffens himself and keeps his facial expressions generally between neutral and annoyed, though he’s softer than Clunes, less a prisoner of his own body, less abrasive, less otherworldly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2026

But today, instead of her usual greeting, Did you sleep well, Uhmma’s back stiffens and she quickly puts something into a brown paper bag she is holding at her side.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na

Others argued the particles stiffened the surrounding material like glue.

From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026

They reckon it may have stiffened the resolve of the German public and discouraged rebels within the dying Nazi regime.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 12, 2026

Europe’s spine stiffened in part because 2025 exceeded expectations economically, says Jeremie Peloso, chief European strategist at BCA Research.

From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 2026

Her roles in the 1950s diminished in plausibility, and Crawford’s acting stiffened into rigid self-presentation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Sheed stiffened, expecting some monstrous, cackling squeal of a voice.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

Softening rather than stiffening when moving through space requires embracing your body’s natural sway and tiny micro-movements, like an ankle wobbling or knee jiggling.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

IPF is a chronic, progressive lung disease characterized by irreversible scarring and stiffening of lung tissue.

From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026

It’s hard to imagine a greater accomplishment than to achieve peace while stiffening the sinews of deterrence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026

Technicians periodically check in on a patient shortly after surgery to quickly probe the new organ and look for signs of stiffening and potential acute failure or rejection.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2024

But it was not hostility, exactly; merely a kind of wariness, a momentary stiffening, as at the passing of some unfamiliar animal.

From "1984" by George Orwell


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