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stiff

[stif] / stΙͺf /






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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The period is respected but never allowed to become stiff or artificial.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Some cells were placed in stiff environments designed to resemble the physical conditions surrounding primary tumors.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026

Baidu is facing stiff competition in China from tech titans such as Alibaba and ByteDance, as well as startups like DeepSeek and Moonshot AI in the AI sector.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

For their part, the mass-market carmaker's executives say they are trying to adapt to the "reality" of stiff global competition.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

His limbs felt stiff and his palms stung from clinging on to the rock.

From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook

If he ventures onto a dance floor now, he admits "my two-step has become a lot stiffer" out of anxiety that a wrong move could be filmed and send him viral.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

Over two days, three judges at the Court of Appeal in Melbourne will hear two appeals: Patterson's attempt to overturn her conviction and the prosecution's demand for a stiffer sentence.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

It makes the ankle joint stiffer and can improve stability when the foot contacts the ground.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

The politicians also want to allow for stiffer fines against companies following a disaster.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

They’re a little tighter and stiffer than my work pants.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Over the next couple of weeks, the stock market will face some of the stiffest seasonal headwinds of the entire year.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

She had offers from England, Mexico and the United States, with sources close to the player stating Boston Legacy provided the stiffest competition.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Tarrant's penalty of life imprisonment without parole was the stiffest in New Zealand history.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

The car was so fast for so much of the season that the stiffest competition its drivers faced was from each other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025

Her body curled too; as the weeks turned to months, she shrank into herself like the stiffest of fetuses, shrivelling, her skin sallow and waxy.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

Let’s say they’re stiffs and they’re stupid people, and they say, ‘Well, we really have no choice.’

From Washington Post ● Dec. 6, 2022

Politico also reported that for his legal services, Kise will be paid by Trump, who regularly stiffs lawyers and business partners when it comes time to sign off on the bill.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2022

That honor will always go to John Wooden, with his 10 national championships in an era when the tournament contained no stiffs, but only conference champions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2022

Iceland has achieved the holy grail for working stiffs: same pay for shorter hours.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2021

"Just between ourselves, Blore, and taking into account that we'll probably both be a couple of stiffs before another day is out, you did indulge in that spot of perjury, I suppose?"

From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

These are the “private investors” who would get stiffed if Ivanpah were to shut down due to the project’s minimal asset salvage value and the sizable Energy Department loan standing first in the recovery line.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025

Through a series of high-profile protests and rallies, deliverers informed customers that they were getting stiffed on pay, and they did not have durable insurance to cover accidents, robberies, injuries, and physical attacks.

From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2025

DuBon had been stiffed on a painting job a few weeks earlier — an employer simply refused to pay — and started going to Casa Latina instead of Home Depot.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024

Thousands of private vendors who supplied the state with goods and services got stiffed after July 1.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2023

The birds stiffed in the rafters, and finally even Grenn began to chuckle.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

Any reform plan from a committee would still require lawmakers to cast a difficult vote exposing them to charges of overtaxing working Americans or stiffing retirees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

“Under Musk’s control, Twitter has become a scofflaw, stiffing employees, landlords, vendors, and others,” says the lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024

And the Black content creators who, in a recent Washington Post article, accused the social media company of stiffing them?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2022

It also happened to be a gift to anyone stiffing Uncle Sam.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 11, 2022

“If you’re not getting commissions, Becker’s stiffing you.”

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls




Vocabulary lists containing stiff


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