stiffen

The defective hemoglobin sticks to itself, causing normally flexible cells to stiffen into sickle shapes—a process sometimes called sickling—that block blood flow, damage organs and trigger excruciating pain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

"He'd started to stiffen because he had been there for so long, dead, with no-one noticing. It's horrific to think someone's loved one died with no one near them."

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 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

This involves the buildup of dense, fibrous tissue around the tumor, made up of cells and proteins that stiffen and inflame the area.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 30, 2026

As soon as he touched her she seemed to wince and stiffen.

From "1984" by George Orwell

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

This arrangement stiffens the chain of bones and allows it to transmit very high-pitched sounds more efficiently, a characteristic often seen in animals such as echolocating bats that can detect ultrasound.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 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

As Martin, Charles stiffens himself and keeps his facial expressions generally between neutral and annoyed, though he’s softer than Clunes, less a prisoner of his own body, less abrasive, less otherworldly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2026

There, by the light of the rocket I see something move in the wire, then it stiffens and I lie still.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

Refusing to form such a coalition, even if it meant giving up a sure route to the prime ministry, would have stiffened this view.

From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026

The Lions’ defense, which had allowed Bishop Amat to score on four of its five first-half possessions, then stiffened, forcing the Lancers to punt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Others argued the particles stiffened the surrounding material like glue.

From Science Daily ● May 13, 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

Her sister’s entire demeanor stiffened, and Clara realized too late that she had crossed a boundary she ought not to have crossed.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

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

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

"Our observations are consistent across multiple length scales and link connective tissue stiffening to altered biochemical signaling in cancer cells."

From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2026

No wonder OpenAI’s Sam Altman issued a “code red” alert to employees urging them to step up the pace of chatbot development in the face of stiffening competition from the likes of Google’s Gemini.

From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025

She could feel the cat stiffening under her hands, as if it were anxious to be away.

From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman