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Antonyms for stiff

Grammar : Adj
Spell : stif
Phonetic Transcription : stɪf


Definition of stiff

Origin :
  • Old English stif "rigid, inflexible," from Proto-Germanic *stifaz "inflexible" (cf. Dutch stijf, Old High German stif, German steif "stiff;" Old Norse stifla "choke"), from PIE *stipos-, from root *steip- "press together, pack, cram" (cf. Sanskrit styayate "coagulates," stima "slow;" Greek stia, stion "small stone," steibo "press together;" Latin stipare "pack down, press," stipes "post, tree trunk;" Lithuanian stipti "stiffen," stiprus "strong;" Old Church Slavonic stena "wall"). Of battles and competitions, from mid-13c.; of liquor, from 1813. To keep a stiff upper lip is attested from 1815.
  • adj hard, inflexible
  • adj formal, standoffish
  • adj difficult
  • adj extreme, severe
Example sentences :
  • Opposite him sat a tall fellow very erect and stiff in his chair.
  • Extract from : « Way of the Lawless » by Max Brand
  • The coverlet dropped from her breast; her hand was suspended with stiff fingers.
  • Extract from : « Way of the Lawless » by Max Brand
  • A figure in white, with a stiff white cap, stood by the bed.
  • Extract from : « Life and Death of Harriett Frean » by May Sinclair
  • She was thin, thinner than ever, and stiff as if she had withered.
  • Extract from : « Life and Death of Harriett Frean » by May Sinclair
  • Her fingers were stiff, but so was her will: the way she stuck to her work was pathetic.
  • Extract from : « Weighed and Wanting » by George MacDonald
  • Whip the cream until it is stiff and fold this into the mixture.
  • Extract from : « Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4 » by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
  • Their flesh should be firm and stiff and their eyes should be bright.
  • Extract from : « Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 3 » by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
  • Her stiff cap moved in the breeze as it swung from the corner of her mirror.
  • Extract from : « K » by Mary Roberts Rinehart
  • You must remember him,—his name was Jorg, and he had stiff, black hair.
  • Extract from : « Rico and Wiseli » by Johanna Spyri
  • We moved with difficulty, and I found my limbs so stiff as to be scarcely manageable.
  • Extract from : « Ned Myers » by James Fenimore Cooper

Synonyms for stiff

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019