Meaning & use
stiffen
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To become harder to bend, or to make something harder to bend.
Grammar: Can be used with an object (stiffen the mixture) or without one (the mixture stiffened).
Patterns
- stiffen something
- something stiffens
- stiffen with something
Add more flour to stiffen the sauce.
The fabric stiffened after it dried in the sun.
His joints stiffen in cold weather.
verbtransitive or intransitivefigurative
To become stronger or more determined, or to make someone more determined.
Grammar: Often used with abstract nouns like resolve, resistance, or opposition.
Patterns
- stiffen someone's resolve
- stiffen resistance
- stiffen against something
The unfair criticism stiffened her resolve to succeed.
Public opinion stiffened against the new tax.
The team's spirit stiffened after the coach's speech.
verbintransitive
To make part of your body tense and straight, especially because of fear or cold.
Grammar: Often used with body parts or with the whole person: she stiffened, his back stiffened.
Patterns
- stiffen with fear
- someone's body stiffens
- stiffen at the sound of something
She stiffened when she heard the strange noise outside.
He stiffened with cold as the wind hit his face.
The soldiers stiffened to attention.
Word forms
| third person singular | stiffens |
|---|---|
| past tense | stiffened |
| past participle | stiffened |
| -ing form | stiffening |
Common combinations
- stiffen the mixture
- Whisk the egg whites until they stiffen the mixture.
- stiffen someone's resolve
- The setback only stiffened his resolve to try again.
- stiffen with cold
- Her fingers stiffened with cold as she waited for the bus.
- stiffen resistance
- The new rules stiffened resistance among the workers.
- stiffen a penalty
- The league decided to stiffen the penalty for dangerous play.
Synonyms and how they differ
- harden
- Often used for materials that become solid, like concrete or wax; 'stiffen' suggests becoming less bendable rather than fully solid.
- tighten
- Means to make something firmer by pulling it closer, like a screw or a rope; 'stiffen' is about resistance to bending.
- strengthen
- Focuses on making something more powerful or effective; 'stiffen' in the figurative sense focuses on determination.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: stiffen or stifle?
stiffen vs stifle
Means to stop something from happening or to hold back a laugh or yawn; it is not about becoming rigid.
Practice
The unexpected bad news only ___ her determination to finish the race.
Choose one answer.
The past tense 'stiffened' fits because the sentence describes a completed action in the past. 'Stiffen' is the base form and would need a helper like 'did', 'stiffening' is a participle and cannot stand alone here, and 'stiff' is an adjective, not a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stiffen”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.