stiff

[ stif ]

adjective

, stiff·er, stiff·est.

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

   a stiff collar.

   Synonyms: unyielding, unbending

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: unrelenting, pertinacious, obstinate, resolved

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: prim, constrained, reserved

10. lacking ease and grace; awkward:

    a stiff style of writing.

    Synonyms: inelegant, graceless

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

/ stɪf /

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

noun

1. slang.
   a corpse
2. slang.
   anything thought to be a loser or a failure; flop

adverb

1. completely or utterly

   frozen stiff

   bored stiff

verb

1. slang.
   intr to fail

   the film stiffed

2. slang.
   tr to cheat or swindle
3. slang.
   tr to kill

Derived Forms

• ˈstiffish, adjective
• ˈstiffness, noun
• ˈstiffly, adverb

Other Words From

• stiff·ish adjective
• stiff·ly adverb
• stiff·ness noun
• o·ver·stiff adjective
• o·ver·stiff·ly adverb
• sem·i·stiff adjective
• sem·i·stiff·ly adverb
• un·stiff adjective
• un·stiff·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of stiff¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English stif, stijf, Old English stīf; cognate with German steif, Old Norse stífr; akin to Latin stīpāre “to crowd, press” ( steeve ¹( def ), stifle ¹ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of stiff¹

Old English stīf; related to Old Norse stīfla to dam up, Middle Low German stīf stiff, Latin stīpēs wooden post, stīpāre to press

Idioms and Phrases

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

Synonym Study

See firm ¹.

Example Sentences

Unlike today’s earthworms, these 1-centimeter fossils, called Uncus dzaugisi, lack any segments and had an outer coat stiff enough to keep them from being completely flattened as sediments accumulated on top of them.

From Science Magazine

They named the animal Skiphosoura bavarica meaning ‘sword tail from Bavaria’ because it comes from southern Germany and has a very unusual short, but stiff and pointed tail.

From Science Daily

Mr Bailey told the jury the CPR had never succeeded because "by the time Mr Sidpara had called 999, she was already cold and stiff and her jaw locked shut".

From BBC

The biggest night in music is just around the corner — and this year, the competition is stiff after a summer dominated by pop divas and male country stars.

From Salon

In the absence of such leadership, special interest groups will step in with measures that fall back on stiff punishment and mass incarceration, as Proposition 36 does.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• brisk
• excessive
• extreme
• hard
• harsh
• heavy
• rigorous
• sharp
• steep
• strict
• stringent
• strong
• vigorous