stiffen
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.
See Examples For:
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said that young people should stiffen their spines and embrace hardship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 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
This involves the buildup of dense, fibrous tissue around the tumor, made up of cells and proteins that stiffen and inflame the area.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 30, 2026
Calling the eradication of extortion “one of the great challenges” facing Mexico, Sheinbaum pledged to bolster enforcement, stiffen penalties and increase safeguards for anyone receiving threats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
I can see her stiffen and tighten her grip on the handle of her briefcase.
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
The illness causes breathing difficulties and creates scar tissue that stiffens the lungs, making it difficult to breathe and for oxygen to enter the bloodstream.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
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
Metcalf, bringing all her blue-collar brilliance to the role, stiffens Linda’s spine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
More than 13% of Americans 75 and older have the condition, in which the aortic valve stiffens and narrows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
The beater forms billions of microscopic air pockets and stiffens the egg proteins.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
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
Drive up the A34 road from Alfred the Great’s capital at Winchester to Oxford and you trace the forgotten spine of an older England, with stretches stiffened by Roman roads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
At that Anna stiffened and looked ready to object, but Young Petey gave a slight nod and mouthed, We’re fine.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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
"They keep me fit and keep me moving, stop me stiffening up - I'm very determined, I won't give up," she says.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2025
It smashed 300-pound spheres swinging on a pendulum into a fuselage panel to deliberately damage it, causing one of the stiffening rods to break, then repeatedly applied loads representative of those in flight 40,000 times.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 15, 2024
Swimming gave him the chance to move and exercise his body, to uncramp it from the stiffening stillness of sitting with a chessboard or a book.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Vocabulary lists containing stiffen
