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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Stiffer

Stiff \Stiff\, a. [Compar. Stiffer; superl. Stiffest.] [OE. stif, AS. st[=i]f; akin to D. stijf, G. steif, Dan. stiv, Sw. styf, Icel. st[=i]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.

    [They] rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid a["e]rial sky.
    --Milton.

  2. Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff.

  3. Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze.

  4. Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary.

    It is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish argument.
    --Jer. Taylor.

    A war ensues: the Cretans own their cause, Stiff to defend their hospitable laws.
    --Dryden.

  5. Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style.

    The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved.
    --Addison.

  6. Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear. [Obs. or Colloq.] ``This is stiff news.''
    --Shak.

  7. (Naut.) Bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to crank.
    --Totten.

  8. Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price. [Slang]

    Stiff neck, a condition of the neck such that the head can not be moved without difficulty and pain.

    Syn: Rigid; inflexible; strong; hardly; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; harsh; formal; constrained; affected; starched; rigorous.

Wiktionary
stiffer

a. (en-comparative of: stiff) More rigid, more inflexible, more unbending.

Usage examples of "stiffer".

Bold would no doubt believe, but his remedy would be only a stiffer draught of doctrine.

Without you to laugh at me, I shall get stiffer and starchier until I cannot bend at the joints.

The last statement was not a complete truth: her armor was continuing to get stiffer, and the walk was becoming a totter.

Globe and read that the highway patrol found you and Wags dead in your car frozen stiffer than Popsicles.

Our terms will get stiffer, and your price will be more horrible, the longer you delay.

Mrs Tarleton, whose knees are stiffer, bends over him and tries to lift him.

She had only taken a few steps when a new thought hit her and she drew in a sharp breath, stiffer ting to swing round and face him again.

The twisted ankle had become stiffer and more painful, so that he could hardly hobble.

He declined a drink, and, if anything, his manner became stiffer than before.

He had learned to stiffer without complaint, to hurt without whimpering, and to kill without emotion.

All his public utterances and appearances were marked by a demeanour that was even stiffer and more unyielding than usual, and by tones so measured as to be almost sepulchral.