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stiff - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'stiff' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Stiff [ superl.]
- Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints.
- Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff.
- Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze.
- Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary.
- Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style.
- Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear.
- Bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to crank.
- Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price.

Meaning of 'stiff' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . stiff [ n]
Meaning (1):
- an ordinary man
Example in sentence:
  • a lucky stiff;
  • a working stiff
Meaning (2):
- the dead body of a human being
Example in sentence:
  • honor comes to bless the turf that wraps their clay;
  • the cadaver was intended for dissection;
  • the end of the police search was the discovery of a corpse;
  • the murderer confessed that he threw the stiff in the river
3 . stiff [ a]
Meaning (3):
- having a strong physiological or chemical effect
Example in sentence:
  • a potent cup of tea;
  • a potent toxin;
  • a stiff drink;
  • potent liquor
4 . stiff [ r]
Meaning (4):
- extremely
Example in sentence:
  • a whacking good story;
  • boiling mad;
  • bored stiff;
  • frightened stiff;
  • he was enormously popular;
  • hellishly dangerous;
  • infernally clever;
  • it was positively monumental;
  • it will be an extraordinarily painful step to negotiate;
  • roaring drunk;
  • she was drop-dead gorgeous;
  • she was inordinately smart;
  • teachers were shockingly underpaid;
  • there is precious little time left;
  • they all were whopping drunk;
  • Why are you so all-fired aggressive?;
  • you are bloody right;
  • you are goddamn right!
Meaning (5):
- in a stiff manner
Example in sentence:
  • his hands lay stiffly
6 . stiff [ s]
Meaning (6):
- marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
Example in sentence:
  • a firm mouth;
  • a man of unbendable perseverence;
  • firm convictions;
  • steadfast resolve;
  • unwavering loyalty
Meaning (7):
- incapable of or resistant to bending
Example in sentence:
  • a palace guardsman stiff as a poker;
  • a rigid strip of metal;
  • a stiff neck;
  • a table made of rigid plastic;
  • stiff hair
Meaning (8):
- rigidly formal
Example in sentence:
  • a starchy manner;
  • his prose has a buckram quality;
  • the letter was stiff and formal
Meaning (9):
- powerful
Example in sentence:
  • a stiff breeze;
  • a stiff current
Meaning (10):
- not moving or operating freely
Example in sentence:
  • a stiff hinge

Nearby Words:

stiacciato stian stibborn stibial stibialism stibiated stibic stibiconite stibine stibious

See 'stiff' also in:

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