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

Depending on the situation, the material can bend, buckle, or stiffen in different ways, all without electronics, sensors, or active control systems.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

These are, Mr. Freymann writes, “tempting targets,” but seizing them could stiffen the resolve of Taiwan and its Western friends.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

As these weaken and stiffen over time it can affect walking, talking, eating and breathing.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026

On the surface, the water seems to stiffen and turn greasy.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

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

Last year, Alibaba announced a plan to fold food-delivery and online-travel services into its e-commerce unit as competition stiffens in the Chinese market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 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

I don’t know if he’s being careful not to touch me or if my hand stiffens involuntarily, but there’s no contact.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

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

The king sat back slowly in his water-jade throne, his eyes still fastened on them as his jaw stiffened with displeasure.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

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

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

But it was not hostility, exactly; merely a kind of wariness, a momentary stiffening, as at the passing of some unfamiliar animal.

From "1984" by George Orwell