I. ˈstif adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English stif, from Old English stīf; akin to Middle Dutch stijf stiff, Middle Low German stīf stiff, Old Norse stīfla to dam up, Latin stipare to press together, Greek steibein to tread on, Lithuanian stipti to be stiff, Russian stebel' stalk
1.
a. : incapable of or resistant to being flexed or bent : rigid
wears a stiff collar
sitting … on the edge of a stiff chair — Scott Fitzgerald
a palace guardsman, stiff as a poker in his tall busby, stands sentinel
knots in the gaskets were stiff with frost — C.B.Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
b. : exhibiting rigor mortis
still unburied, lay … stiff and stark — R.L.Stevenson
c. : lacking in suppleness — used especially of the muscles and joints
my body was stiff from exertion as well as from cold — Jack London
tried to smile … but her face felt stiff — Margaret Deland
d. obsolete : tightly stretched : taut
another arrow forth from his stiff string he sent — George Chapman
e. : impeded in movement (as by friction) — used of a mechanism
clocks whose mannikins went through … stiff and elegant movements — Lewis Mumford
f. : slowed or immobilized by intoxication : drunk
after drinking … in that bar for two hours, I was pretty stiff — W.R.Hecox
2.
a. : characterized by moral courage : firm , resolute
has taken a stiff position that it has the power to forbid its contractors to bargain with unions — R.S.Brown
kept a stiff upper lip for the term of his ordeal — Bruce Dearing
b. : characterized by obstinacy : stubborn , unyielding
took a rather stiff … stand in defense of his handiwork — Dexter Perkins
c. : characterized by independence or self-esteem : proud
passeth by with stiff unbowed knee — Shakespeare
too poor to go and too stiff to tell her the reason — Time
d.
(1) : marked by reserve, decorum, or respect for ceremony : formal , punctilious
the easy warmth you knew has given place to a stiff courtesy — H.J.Laski
brought his hand … to the visor of his cap in a stiff salute — Wirt Williams
(2) : lacking in ease or grade : stilted , unbending
a style which is lofty but not stiff — C.D.Lewis
too arid and stiff a melody for song — M.F.Bukofger
3. : hard fought : pugnacious , sharp
salmon give a stiff fight until landed — American Guide Series: Maine
she had driven a stiff bargain — Ann F. Wolfe
heading into a year of stiff competition — Herbert Koshetz
4.
a. obsolete : solidly constructed : sturdy , stalwart
make you ready your stiff bats and clubs — Shakespeare
b.
(1) : exerting great force : strong , violent
a stiff west wind was whooping in off the prairies — F.B.Gipson
(2) : of an energetic or powerful nature : forceful , vigorous
follow … on a stiff lope — Bruce Siberts
landed … a stiff left to the head — Ring
c. : containing a relatively large amount of the main ingredient (as alcohol or a medicine) : potent
a couple of stiff cocktails relaxed him completely
a stiff dose of cod liver oil
5.
a. : of a dense or glutinous consistency : thick , viscous
the concrete is allowed to stand until it is quite stiff but still workable — Building Estimating & Contracting
a stiff grease that does a good job of protecting metal — Monsanto Magazine
beat the egg whites until stiff — Ruth Hutchison
b. : consisting of or abounding in clay : heavy
soils … that are wet and stiff — F.D.Smith & Barbara Wilcox
c. : thickly covered or completely filled : crowded , pervaded
an audience stiff with academic dignitaries — Mollie Panter-Downes
something in the air, intangible, yet stiff with meaning, struck my senses — Edna S. V. Millay
6.
a. : harsh or disagreeable in character : severe , tough
get a stiff fine for disorderly conduct — S.H.Holbrook
Nicaragua objected and stiff notes were exchanged — Newsweek
b. : demanding physical exertion : arduous , rugged
stiff terrain
a stiff … hike up the trail, among jagged boulders and through crevasses — American Guide Series: Arkansas
leading an orchestra is stiff work — Robert Rice
c. : requiring strenuous mental effort : difficult , exacting
the examination was so stiff that none below the highest grades of university honors men … could hope to be selected — W.T.Stace
the casual reader will find certain parts of this book stiff going — Ralph Linton
7. : inherently stable : not easily heeled over by an external force (as the wind) : righting itself quickly when tipped — used of a ship; compare crank , steady IX 1c
8.
a. : excessive in amount : expensive , steep
the rent is a stiff $500 a week — Henry Hewes
satellite goods paid a stiff duty to enter France — Stringfellow Barr
b. : maintaining a high level : tending to rise : bullish , unyielding
a stiff market
buyers … find sellers stiff — London Daily News
9. : unguarded — used in a card game of a high honor that is a singleton
Synonyms:
stiff , rigid , inflexible , tense , stark , and wooden can mean, in common, so firm or hard as to be difficult or impossible to bend literally or figuratively. stiff , the most common, can apply to any degree of this condition or to something difficult to work or beat
a stiff rod
a book with stiff covers
hinges that are a bit stiff
a stiff pudding
a stiff smile
to stand straight and stiff
rigid applies to anything so stiff that bending will break it
a rigid board
the rigid wings of a plane
inflexible is like rigid but stresses more the lack of suppleness or pliability
an inflexible plastic material
an inflexible shaft on a golf club
tense , implying tautness, usually applies to muscles or nerves strained in expectation of activity or by nervous excitment
with muscles tense in position to spring
nerves tense with anxiety
stark implies a stiffness associated with loss of life, warmth, and vitality, often connoting desolation, barrenness, or death
told her once that cut flowers before they actually die … stretch themselves out with a palpable jerk, stark and rigid — J.C.Powys
here all the surfaces remained stark and unyielding, thin and sharp, like impoverished old maids — George Santayana
rats … danced comically before they died, and lay in the scuppers stark and ruffled — Sinclair Lewis
wooden , in this application suggesting the hardness and lack of suppleness of wood, implies clumsiness, deadness or heaviness of spirit, or lack of grace or animation
a face that was wooden with misery — Rebecca West
wooden humorlessness — Times Literary Supplement
the wooden neatness of routine and failure — Howard Moss
II. adverb
( often -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English stif, from stif, adjective
1. : stiffly
stood up straight and stiff — R.L.Stevenson
wear a uniform that is starched stiff
2. : to an extreme degree : intensely , severely
bored stiff
scared stiff
advanced into the doctor's consulting room … was frightened stiff — Mary McCarthy
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English stiffen, from stif, adjective
1. : stiffen ; especially : to remove the oil in (a French finish) with a rubber
2. slang : to withhold money from : cheat , chisel ; especially : to refrain from tipping
cabdrivers often get stiffed
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: stiff (I)
1. : one that is stiff: as
a. : a stiffened article of clothing (as a collar or a petticoat)
b. slang
(1) : negotiable paper : money
(2) : counterfeit bills or a forged check
(3) : a letter, card, or legal document (as a certificate or license) ; especially : a note smuggled between prison inmates
(4) : something (as a folded newspaper) used by a pickpocket to hide his maneuvers
c.
(1) : corpse , cadaver
(2) : a haughty, prim, or boring person
(3) : drunk
(4) slang : cheap skate, tightwad ; especially : one who tips poorly or not at all
2.
a. : a crude or disreputable fellow : bum , tramp
looked like a mission stiff who had wandered uptown from the Bowery — Joel Sayre
got the breaks, the lucky stiffs — Jan Peerce
b. : a blue-collar worker : laborer , hand
of first importance to every working stiff , farmer and businessman in America — E.A.Lahey
knew enough about the business to hire on as a construction stiff — Time
especially : floater 4
3. : a horse not intended to win or certain not to win a race
no way even of knowing if his horse is trying to win or is a stiff just sent out for the exercise — Ernest Havemann
Synonyms: see vagabond
V. abbreviation
stiffener
VI. intransitive verb
: to fail commercially
the movie stiffed at the box office
transitive verb
1. : stick 7a
stiffed us with the bar bill
2. : snub 1
stiffed sportswriters after the game