stiffen — To make or become rigid, hard, or less flexible. Can refer to physical materials becoming firm or people becoming tense and formal.
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: To make or become rigid, hard, or less flexible. Can refer to physical materials becoming firm or people becoming tense and formal.
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈstɪfən/
Example Sentences
- My grandmother's joints stiffen every morning like a rusty robot coming to life.
- The cat stiffened when it saw the cucumber behind it - classic cat behavior!
- The government plans to stiffen immigration laws next year.
stiffen
VERB[/ˈstɪfən/]
To make or become rigid, hard, or less flexible. Can refer to physical materials becoming firm or people becoming tense and formal.
To make or become rigid, hard, or less flexible. Can refer to physical materials becoming firm or people becoming tense and formal.
The frightened kitten will stiffen, though by web it's bitten!
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From Old English 'stif' meaning hard or rigid, which comes from Germanic roots. The verb 'stiffen' was formed by adding the suffix '-en' to make it mean 'to make or become stiff.'
Breakdown
stiff (hard, rigid) + -en (verb suffix meaning 'to make' or 'to become')
🎵Rhyme
📝Examples
“My grandmother's joints stiffen every morning like a rusty robot coming to life.”
“The cat stiffened when it saw the cucumber behind it - classic cat behavior!”
“The government plans to stiffen immigration laws next year.”
“His smile stiffened when he heard the bad news.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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