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¹stiff

adjective \ˈstif\

: difficult to bend or move

: painful to move or use; also : showing pain in movement or use

: thick and difficult to stir or pour

Full Definition of STIFF

a : not easily bent : rigid <a stiff collar>

b : lacking in suppleness or flexibility <stiff muscles>

c : impeded in movement —used of a mechanism <a truck's stiff suspension>

d : drunk 1a

a : firm, resolute

b : stubborn, unyielding

c : proud

d (1) : marked by reserve or decorum (2) : lacking in ease or grace : stilted

: hard fought <stiff competition>

a (1) : exerting great force <a stiff wind> (2) : forceful, vigorous

b : potent <poured her a stiff drink>

: of a dense or glutinous consistency : thick

a : harsh, severe <a stiff penalty>

b : arduous, rugged <stiff terrain>

: not easily heeled over by an external force (as the wind) <a stiff ship>

: expensive, steep <paid a stiff price>

— stiff·ish \ˈsti-fish\ adjective

— stiff·ly adverb

— stiff·ness noun

See stiff defined for English-language learners

See stiff defined for kids

Origin of STIFF

Middle English stif, from Old English stīf; akin to Middle Dutch stijf stiff, Latin stipare to press together, Greek steibein to tread on

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to STIFF

Synonyms: inflexible, rigid, stiffened, unyielding

Antonyms: flexible, floppy, pliable, pliant, supple, yielding

Synonym Discussion of STIFF

stiff, rigid, inflexible mean difficult to bend. stiff may apply to any degree of this condition <stretching keeps your muscles from becoming stiff>. rigid applies to something so stiff that it cannot be bent without breaking <a rigid surfboard>. inflexible stresses lack of suppleness or pliability <ski boots with inflexible soles>.

Rhymes with STIFF

biff, cliff, diff, glyph, if, iff, jiff, miff, quiff, riff, skiff, sniff, spiff, spliff, syph, tiff, whiff

²stiff

adverb

: very much : to an extreme degree

Full Definition of STIFF

: in a stiff manner : stiffly

: to an extreme degree : severely <scared stiff> <bored stiff>

: close enough to the hole for an easy putt in golf <hit it stiff and tapped it in for an easy birdie>

See stiff defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of STIFF

13th century

³stiff

noun

: the body of a dead person

: a person who you think is lucky, unlucky, etc.

: an ordinary or dull person

Full Definition of STIFF

: corpse

a : vagrant, tramp

b : a member of the working class; especially : a blue-collar worker

c : person <a lucky stiff>; especially : a stodgy or excessively decorous person

: flop, failure

See stiff defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of STIFF

circa 1859

Related to STIFF

Synonyms: bones, cadaver, carcass, corpus, corse [archaic], relics, remains, corpse

⁴stiff

verb

: to not give as much money as you should give to (someone)

Full Definition of STIFF

transitive verb

a : to refuse to pay or tip <stiffed the waiter>

b : cheat <stiffed him in a business deal>

c : stick 7a <stiffed us with the bar bill>

: snub 3 <stiffed sportswriters after the game>

intransitive verb

: to fail commercially <the movie stiffed at the box office>

See stiff defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of STIFF

1950

Related to STIFF

Synonyms: cold-shoulder, cut, high-hat, slight, snub, stiff-arm

STIFFLY Defined for Kids

stiff

adjective \ˈstif\

stiff·erstiff·est

Definition of STIFF for Kids

: not easily bent <And because Sarah's clothes were stiff and heavy, the Indian woman made her clothes of deerskin … — Alice Dalgliesh, The Courage of Sarah Noble>

: not easily moved <stiff muscles>

: firm and not changeable <stiff determination>

: not friendly, relaxed, or graceful in manner <… how tense Phoebe's whole family seemed, how tidy, how respectable, how … stiff. — Sharon Creech, Walk Two Moons>

: powerful, strong <a stiff wind>

: not flowing easily : thick <Beat the egg whites until stiff.>

: severe 3 <a stiff penalty>

: hard to do or deal with : difficult <a stiff test>

— stiff·ly adverb <walk stiffly>

— stiff·ness noun

Medical Dictionary