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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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
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
Calling the eradication of extortion “one of the great challenges” facing Mexico, Sheinbaum pledged to bolster enforcement, stiffen penalties and increase safeguards for anyone receiving threats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
“You know why,” I said, and I saw him stiffen.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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
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
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
"Everyone, by the time you get to your mid-30s, maybe early 40s, you'll notice that the lens of the eye really stiffens," she said.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
Cardan lifts his head, and his whole posture stiffens as though some uncomfortable truth just came home to him.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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
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
When he had come to visit, she embraced him at the door, but he stiffened and politely shrugged her off.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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
"They keep me fit and keep me moving, stop me stiffening up - I'm very determined, I won't give up," she says.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2025
A fourth try and he had it all but strung— when a stiffening in Odysseus made him check.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Vocabulary lists containing stiffen
