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

“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

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

Then I hear my own words and stiffen.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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

She stiffens, and her gulp is so loud it almost echoes.

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

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

The hair immediately stiffened, retaining the shape of the lock’s interior.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

The results do not establish that better fitness directly prevented arterial stiffening.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

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

His burned hand was stiffening up on him, and soon it began to ache.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin