stiffen

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

If Powell stays, that arithmetic becomes even harder, and it could stiffen the resolve of other governors whose terms run beyond Powell’s, said Wilcox.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 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

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the deaths with a post on X that said: "Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve."

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 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

More than 13% of Americans 75 and older have the condition, in which the aortic valve stiffens and narrows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 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

She stiffens at first—must’ve caught her off guard—but then she says, “Me too, Rae. I’m glad, too.”

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

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

The barrels -- bound tightly with rope, their fabric skins stiffened and darkened with lacquer -- inevitably recall the Gulf's vast hydrocarbon wealth.

From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 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

Candice saw the exact moment when Brandon stiffened during their exchange.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

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

Mia’s back was still to them, the water rushing over her hands, but all four of the children saw it: a slight stiffening of her posture, as if a string had been tightened.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng