stiffen

“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

“It probably would stiffen their spine,” said Brian Latell, a former CIA analyst who wrote a biography of Castro and his older brother Fidel Castro.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 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

When we’d finished, I was beginning to stiffen up, so I got up to move around and looked in on one of the two dormitories.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

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

Once the pH returns to normal, the tissue stiffens again and locks into its new form.

From Science Daily ● May 28, 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

We stand there until her body stiffens and she pulls away.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

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

Johnson’s move appears to have stiffened investors’ spines.

From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026

Her roles in the 1950s diminished in plausibility, and Crawford’s acting stiffened into rigid self-presentation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Opal clenched her jaw and stiffened, clearly trying to fight her father’s command.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

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

He said his parents also told him their child had been unwell the night before he was brought to hospital and had been displaying abnormal movements including shaking and stiffening of his limbs.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2024

The flexible stems and shoots thrust aside by Sticky’s fall were stiffening and spreading back into place.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart