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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“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
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
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
Her fingertips brush against my forearm, and I stiffen under her touch.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
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
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
Yet when she is asked about migrants, she stops knitting a blue shawl and stiffens; her demeanor turns cold.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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
Europe’s spine stiffened in part because 2025 exceeded expectations economically, says Jeremie Peloso, chief European strategist at BCA Research.
From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 2026
Marinello said that could change if countries stiffened the penalties for stealing cultural heritage by calling it cultural terrorism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025
“Liar,” he said, and I stiffened and looked over at him.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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
The two men who came with Doctor Nduoma carried Papa-Nnukwu’s stiffening body in their hands, one holding his underarms and the other his ankles.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Vocabulary lists containing stiffen
