stiffen
Example Sentences
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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
“People get scared of the sway, the wobble. If you’ve had a fall before, you get a fear of falling again and you stiffen up, you become protective,” Swanson says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Depending on the situation, the material can bend, buckle, or stiffen in different ways, all without electronics, sensors, or active control systems.
From Science Daily ● 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
I can see her stiffen and tighten her grip on the handle of her briefcase.
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
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
Metcalf, bringing all her blue-collar brilliance to the role, stiffens Linda’s spine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
When the cell enters the next interphase and the asters reform, the cytoplasm stiffens again and stabilizes the band.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 28, 2026
Autumn stiffens at the second mention of Tano.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
The Romans, their ranks stiffened by Genoese and Venetian troops, did their best to resist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Others argued the particles stiffened the surrounding material like glue.
From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026
“But the cat stiffened and I stiffened whenever anybody moved, aware of all the possible lives being lived around us.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 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 dark hazel eyes clouded while she talked, and her face stiffened.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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
The inquest was told rigor mortis - the stiffening of the body after death - had set in.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 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
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
For long hours each morning and evening, he lay on his small bed, swinging his arms and legs, arching his back, and stretching to keep his body from stiffening.
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
Vocabulary lists containing stiffen
