stiffen

This summer, Slegers has strengthened her hand with seven new players, including full-back Ona Batlle, Caldentey's compatriot, and England dynamo Georgia Stanway to stiffen midfield.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 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

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said that young people should stiffen their spines and embrace hardship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 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

Ray reaches over and half hugs me, but I stiffen, so he knocks me gently on the head with his fist.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

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

This arrangement stiffens the chain of bones and allows it to transmit very high-pitched sounds more efficiently, a characteristic often seen in animals such as echolocating bats that can detect ultrasound.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2026

The degenerative disease creates scar tissue that stiffens the lungs making it difficult to breathe and for oxygen to enter the bloodstream.

From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2025

And I can't talk, but I tap lightly on Alicia's cane, and she stiffens, then smiles slightly, and motions with her head and eyebrows, urging me to get going.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

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

Throughout Fernlight Forest, animals stiffened, looked toward Deadwood, and thought, Hesterfowl’s premonition is coming to pass.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

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

She could never be sure what thoughts were hidden behind that impassive face, but she had learned to recognize the sudden stiffening of his jaw muscles that meant she had said something shocking.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare