Result from Foreign Dictionaries (2 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Stiff \Stiff\, a. [Compar. {Stiffer}; superl. {Stiffest}.] [OE. stif, AS. st[imac]f; akin to D. stijf, G. steif, Dan. stiv, Sw. styf, Icel. st[imac]fr, Lith. stipti to be stiff; cf. L. stipes a post, trunk of a tree, stipare to press, compress. Cf. {Costive}, {Stifle}, {Stipulate}, {Stive} to stuff.] 1. Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints. [1913 Webster] [They] rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid aerial sky. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff. [1913 Webster] 3. Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze. [1913 Webster] 4. Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary. [1913 Webster] It is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish argument. --Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster] A war ensues: the Cretans own their cause, Stiff to defend their hospitable laws. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 5. Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style. [1913 Webster] The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved. --Addison. [1913 Webster] 6. Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear. [Obs. or Colloq.] "This is stiff news." --Shak. [1913 Webster] 7. (Naut.) Bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to {crank}. --Totten. [1913 Webster] 8. Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price. [Slang] [1913 Webster] {Stiff neck}, a condition of the neck such that the head can not be moved without difficulty and pain. [1913 Webster] Syn: Rigid; inflexible; strong; hardly; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; harsh; formal; constrained; affected; starched; rigorous. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: stiff adv 1: extremely; "bored stiff"; "frightened stiff" 2: in a stiff manner; "his hands lay stiffly" [syn: {stiffly}, {stiff}] adj 1: not moving or operating freely; "a stiff hinge" 2: powerful; "a stiff current"; "a stiff breeze" 3: rigidly formal; "a starchy manner"; "the letter was stiff and formal"; "his prose has a buckram quality" [syn: {starchy}, {stiff}, {buckram}] 4: having a strong physiological or chemical effect; "a potent toxin"; "potent liquor"; "a potent cup of tea", "a stiff drink" [syn: {potent}, {strong}, {stiff}] [ant: {impotent}] 5: marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable; "firm convictions"; "a firm mouth"; "steadfast resolve"; "a man of unbendable perseverence"; "unwavering loyalty" [syn: {firm}, {steadfast}, {steady}, {stiff}, {unbendable}, {unfaltering}, {unshakable}, {unwavering}] 6: incapable of or resistant to bending; "a rigid strip of metal"; "a table made of rigid plastic"; "a palace guardsman stiff as a poker"; "stiff hair"; "a stiff neck" [syn: {rigid}, {stiff}] 7: very drunk [syn: {besotted}, {blind drunk}, {blotto}, {crocked}, {cockeyed}, {fuddled}, {loaded}, {pie-eyed}, {pissed}, {pixilated}, {plastered}, {slopped}, {sloshed}, {smashed}, {soaked}, {soused}, {sozzled}, {squiffy}, {stiff}, {tight}, {wet}] n 1: an ordinary man; "a lucky stiff"; "a working stiff" 2: the dead body of a human being; "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"; "honor comes to bless the turf that wraps their clay" [syn: {cadaver}, {corpse}, {stiff}, {clay}, {remains}]