stiffen

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that the loss of the servicemembers would stiffen the U.S.’s resolve.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

"He'd started to stiffen because he had been there for so long, dead, with no-one noticing. It's horrific to think someone's loved one died with no one near them."

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 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

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

Every sound from my Fourth Aunt’s room made me stiffen with dread.

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang

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

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

That creates a curve or bend in the material, which also stiffens it.

From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026

His back stiffens, and he turns to glare at me.

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

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

Nine hours of gripping the crutch handles had stiffened his hands to claws.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

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

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