˜yÐÄvlog

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View synonyms for

stiff

[ stif ]

adjective

stiffer, stiffest.
  1. rigid or firm; difficult or impossible to bend or flex:

    a stiff collar.

    Synonyms: ,

  2. not moving or working easily:

    The motor was a little stiff from the cold weather.

  3. (of a person or animal) not supple; moving with difficulty, as from cold, age, exhaustion, or injury.
  4. strong; forceful; powerful: The fighter threw a stiff right to his opponent's jaw.

    stiff winds;

    The fighter threw a stiff right to his opponent's jaw.

  5. strong or potent to the taste or system, as a beverage or medicine:

    He was cold and wanted a good stiff drink.

  6. resolute; firm in purpose; unyielding; stubborn.

    Synonyms: , , ,

  7. stubbornly continued:

    a stiff battle.

  8. firm against any tendency to decrease, as stock-market prices.
  9. rigidly formal; cold and unfriendly, as people, manners, or proceedings.

    Synonyms: , ,

  10. lacking ease and grace; awkward:

    a stiff style of writing.

    Synonyms: ,

  11. excessively regular or formal, as a design; not graceful in form or arrangement.
  12. laborious or difficult, as a task.
  13. severe or harsh, as a penalty or demand.
  14. excessive; unusually high or great:

    $50 is pretty stiff to pay for that.

  15. firm from tension; taut:

    to keep a stiff rein.

  16. relatively firm in consistency, as semisolid matter; thick:

    a stiff jelly;

    a stiff batter.

  17. dense or compact; not friable:

    stiff soil.

  18. Nautical. (of a vessel) having a high resistance to rolling; stable ( crank 2 ).
  19. Scot. and North England. sturdy, stout, or strongly built.
  20. Australian Slang. out of luck; unfortunate.


noun

  1. Slang.
    1. a dead body; corpse.
    2. a formal or priggish person.
    3. a poor tipper; tightwad.
    4. a drunk.
  2. Slang.
    1. a fellow:

      lucky stiff; poor stiff.

    2. a tramp; hobo.
    3. a laborer.
  3. Slang.
    1. a forged check.
    2. a promissory note or bill of exchange.
    3. a letter or note, especially if secret or smuggled.
  4. Slang. a contestant, especially a racehorse, sure to lose.

adverb

  1. in or to a firm or rigid state:

    The wet shirt was frozen stiff.

  2. completely, intensely, or extremely: We're scared stiff.

    I'm bored stiff by these lectures.

    We're scared stiff.

verb (used with object)

  1. Slang. to fail or refuse to tip (a waiter, porter, etc.).
  2. Slang. to cheat; swindle; do out of:

    The company stiffed me out of a week's pay.

stiff

/ ²õ³Ùɪ´Ú /

adjective

  1. not easily bent; rigid; inflexible
  2. not working or moving easily or smoothly

    a stiff handle

  3. difficult to accept in its severity or harshness

    a stiff punishment

  4. moving with pain or difficulty; not supple

    a stiff neck

  5. difficult; arduous

    a stiff climb

  6. unrelaxed or awkward; formal
  7. firmer than liquid in consistency; thick or viscous
  8. powerful; strong

    a stiff breeze

    a stiff drink

  9. excessively high

    a stiff price

  10. nautical (of a sailing vessel) relatively resistant to heeling or rolling Compare tender 1
  11. lacking grace or attractiveness
  12. stubborn or stubbornly maintained

    a stiff fight

  13. obsolete.
    tightly stretched; taut
  14. slang.
    unlucky
  15. slang.
    intoxicated
  16. stiff upper lip
    See lip
  17. stiff with informal.
    amply provided with
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. slang.
    a corpse
  2. slang.
    anything thought to be a loser or a failure; flop
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. completely or utterly

    frozen stiff

    bored stiff

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. slang.
    intr to fail

    the film stiffed

  2. slang.
    tr to cheat or swindle
  3. slang.
    tr to kill
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú¾±²õ³ó, adjective
  • ˈ²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú²Ô±ð²õ²õ, noun
  • ˈ²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú±ô²â, adverb
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Other ˜yÐÄvlog Forms

  • ²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú·¾±²õ³ó adjective
  • ²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú·±ô²â adverb
  • ²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú·²Ô±ð²õ²õ noun
  • ´Ç·±¹±ð°ù·²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú adjective
  • o·ver·²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú·±ô²â adverb
  • ²õ±ð³¾Â·¾±Â·²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú adjective
  • sem·i·²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú·±ô²â adverb
  • ³Ü²Ô·²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú adjective
  • un·²õ³Ù¾±´Ú´Ú·±ô²â adverb
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of stiff1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English stif, stijf, Old English ²õ³ÙÄ«´Ú; cognate with German steif, Old Norse ²õ³Ùí´Ú°ù; akin to Latin ²õ³ÙÄ«±èÄå°ù±ð “to crowd, press†( steeve 1( def ), stifle 1 )
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of stiff1

Old English ²õ³ÙÄ«´Ú; related to Old Norse ²õ³ÙÄ«´Ú±ô²¹ to dam up, Middle Low German ²õ³ÙÄ«´Ú stiff, Latin ²õ³ÙÄ«±èŧ²õ wooden post, ²õ³ÙÄ«±èÄå°ù±ð to press
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Idioms and Phrases

  • bore to death (stiff)
  • keep a stiff upper lip
  • scare out of one's wits (stiff)
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Synonym Study

See firm 1.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

If home prices are soaring and there’s stiff competition for properties, staying put and renovating might be the way to go.

From

“The Righteous Gemstones†actor was a guest on the “In Depth With Graham Bensinger†podcast this week when he invoked the specter of stiff person syndrome.

From

However, this is a longer and stiffer task.

From

After playing three-straight games against the Detroit Tigers last week, he said it was “getting a little stiff†near the end of the series.

From

In the face of stiffer sentences, some climate campaigners have said they will turn to more clandestine activities.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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