Stiff
[stɪf]
Definition
(noun.) an ordinary man; 'a lucky stiff'; 'a working stiff'.
(adj.) not moving or operating freely; 'a stiff hinge' .
(adj.) powerful; 'a stiff current'; 'a stiff breeze' .
(adv.) extremely; 'bored stiff'; 'frightened stiff'.
Editor: Xenia--From WordNet
Definition
(superl.) Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints.
(superl.) Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff.
(superl.) Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze.
(superl.) Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary.
(superl.) Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style.
(superl.) Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear.
(superl.) Bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to crank.
(superl.) Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price.
Typed by Brooke
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Rigid, unbending, unyielding, inflexible.[2]. Firm, tenacious, thick, inspissated.[3]. Stubborn, obstinate, pertinacious, rigorous, severe, strict, straight-laced, stringent, peremptory, absolute, positive, austere, dogmatic, uncompromising.[4]. Formal, constrained, ceremonious, punctilious, prim, starch, stately, chilling, frigid, in buckram.[5]. Inelegant, cramped, harsh, crude, graceless, abrupt.[6]. Strong, fresh.
Editor: Madge
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Unbending, inflexible, rigid, unyielding, unpliant, stroux, stubborn,obstinate, pertinacious, constrained, affected, starched, formal, ceremonious,difficult
ANT:Pliant, flexible, flaccid, yielding, easy, unaffected, genial, affable,unceremonious
Inputed by Gavin
Definition
adj. not easily bent: rigid: not liquid: rather hard than soft: not easily overcome: obstinate: not natural and easy: constrained: formal: hard to overcome difficult: firm of prices &c.: dead rigid in death: (naut.) keeping upright.—n. (slang) a corpse: negotiable paper: forged paper.—v.t. Stiff′en to make stiff.—v.i. to become stiff: to become less impressible or more obstinate.—ns. Stiff′ener one who or that which stiffens; Stiff′ening something used to make a substance more stiff.—adj. Stiff′-heart′ed (B.) obstinate stubborn.—adv. Stiff′ly.—n. Stiff′-neck cervical myalgia true torticollis.—adj. Stiff′-necked obstinate hard to move.—ns. Stiff′-neck′edness; Stiff′ness.—Do a bit of stiff to accept or discount a bill.
Editor: Rae
Examples
- Jo in maroon, with a stiff, gentlemanly linen collar, and a white chrysanthemum or two for her only ornament. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- But it merely made him stiff. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Deep in midnight, she was awaked by a rustling near her; she would have started up, but her stiff joints refused to obey her will. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- It makes me cross, and my hands get so stiff, I can't practice well at all. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- It was stiff as a board. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- He was found stiff, his hands clenched, and pressed against his breast. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- She had put on a dress of stiff old greenish brocade, that fitted tight and made her look tall and rather terrible, ghastly. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- He received us to-day, portentously arrayed in his best black suit, and his stiffest white cravat. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- He was a little light-haired gentleman, with undeniable boots, and the stiffest of white cravats and shirt-collars. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- His linen was of the very whitest, finest, and stiffest; his wig of the glossiest, blackest, and curliest. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
Edited by Juanita