stiff

a. [ Compar. Stiffer superl. Stiffest. ] [ OE. stif, AS. stīf; akin to D. stijf, G. steif, Dan. stiv, Sw. styf, Icel. stīfr, 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 ]

a. Obstinate. J. H. Newman. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Stiffened p. pr. & vb. n. Stiffening. ] [ See Stiff. ] 1. To make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible; as, to stiffen cloth with starch. [ 1913 Webster ]

Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to stiffen paste. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To make torpid; to benumb. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become stiff or stiffer, in any sense of the adjective. [ 1913 Webster ]

Like bristles rose my stiffening hair. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

The tender soil then stiffening by degrees. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some souls we see,
Grow hard and stiffen with adversity. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, stiffens anything, as a piece of stiff cloth in a cravat. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Act or process of making stiff. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Something used to make anything stiff. [ 1913 Webster ]

Stiffening order (Com.), a permission granted by the customs department to take cargo or ballast on board before the old cargo is out, in order to steady the ship. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Stiff + heart. ] Obstinate; stubborn; contumacious. Ezek. ii. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Somewhat stiff. [ 1913 Webster ]