as in to strengthen
to make more harsh, uncompromising, or severe
plans to further stiffen the already onerous requirements for admission to the elite military unit
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Recent Examples of stiffen
The woman—Rose, apparently—stiffens slightly.
—
Danielle Parker, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026
The nail seemed to have expanded and warped and stiffened.
—Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
Moving the kink to one end makes that side soft and the opposite end stiff; placing it at the center softens the middle and stiffens both edges.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 22 Mar. 2026
The long lull in excitement threatened to sap our energy, and being stuck in a car for four hours after a morning of physical exertion can stiffen the body.
—Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stiffen
Danielle Parker, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026
The nail seemed to have expanded and warped and stiffened.
—Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
Moving the kink to one end makes that side soft and the opposite end stiff; placing it at the center softens the middle and stiffens both edges.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 22 Mar. 2026
The long lull in excitement threatened to sap our energy, and being stuck in a car for four hours after a morning of physical exertion can stiffen the body.
—Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stiffen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stiffen
strengthen
Verb
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October 23 – November 21 An honest shift today strengthens what truly matters.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
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Scorpio October 23 – November 21 An honest shift today strengthens what truly matters.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stiffen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stiffen. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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