stiffen
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that the loss of the servicemembers would stiffen the U.S.’s resolve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
This approach enabled us to create a material that can bend, buckle, or stiffen differently under slow movements versus sudden impacts -- without electronics, sensors, or active control.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026
As these weaken and stiffen over time it can affect walking, talking, eating and breathing.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
She has also vowed to stiffen prison sentences and to impose a state of emergency in areas worst hit by crime.
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026
The voice and a pitched whistle produced by the tall figure of a young man at the gate of the drowned man’s house made the mammoth canine stiffen in the backseat.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
The illness causes breathing difficulties and creates scar tissue that stiffens the lungs, making it difficult to breathe and for oxygen to enter the bloodstream.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
The biggest reason is that our maximum heart rate slows with age, and the heart muscle stiffens, reducing its pumping effectiveness.
From Barron's ● May 23, 2026
Over time, inflammation can progress to fibrosis and scarring that stiffens the liver.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026
Last year, Alibaba announced a plan to fold food-delivery and online-travel services into its e-commerce unit as competition stiffens in the Chinese market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
Autumn stiffens at the second mention of Tano.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
When the heart must work harder because of exercise, heat, stress or another cause, stiffened blood vessels may be less able to accommodate the increased blood flow.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
They reckon it may have stiffened the resolve of the German public and discouraged rebels within the dying Nazi regime.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 12, 2026
Johnson’s move appears to have stiffened investors’ spines.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
Drive up the A34 road from Alfred the Great’s capital at Winchester to Oxford and you trace the forgotten spine of an older England, with stretches stiffened by Roman roads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
I stiffened at the word patriotic, still on edge from that message left on my jable.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Softening rather than stiffening when moving through space requires embracing your body’s natural sway and tiny micro-movements, like an ankle wobbling or knee jiggling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
IPF is a chronic, progressive lung disease characterized by irreversible scarring and stiffening of lung tissue.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
It’s hard to imagine a greater accomplishment than to achieve peace while stiffening the sinews of deterrence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
These findings further support the idea that chronic inflammation drives tissue stiffening.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2026
Papa didn’t get mad much, but Hanako could see tension building in his face, in his stiffening body.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
Vocabulary lists containing stiffen
