stiff
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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The period is respected but never allowed to become stiff or artificial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Some cells were placed in stiff environments designed to resemble the physical conditions surrounding primary tumors.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
Alphabet’s Waymo, the early leader with roughly 4,000 vehicles operating in various cities, and Tesla provide stiff competition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
It was an already-poorly lamb, which Fiona said had not shown typical symptoms - it had been drooling, dropping food from its mouth and its legs were stiff, but not lame.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The monkeys must have been too cold and stiff.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
If he ventures onto a dance floor now, he admits "my two-step has become a lot stiffer" out of anxiety that a wrong move could be filmed and send him viral.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Over two days, three judges at the Court of Appeal in Melbourne will hear two appeals: Patterson's attempt to overturn her conviction and the prosecution's demand for a stiffer sentence.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
The politicians also want to allow for stiffer fines against companies following a disaster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Ice makes the surrounding material stiffer, allowing vibrations to travel two to three times faster than they do through dry soil.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
The cold makes the linoleum stiffer than usual.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
In a culture of aggregation and AI summary, the stiffest original thinking still feels as supple as a tone poem, and genuine intellectual ambition akin to a secular miracle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Over the next couple of weeks, the stock market will face some of the stiffest seasonal headwinds of the entire year.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
Tarrant's penalty of life imprisonment without parole was the stiffest in New Zealand history.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
Some of the stiffest competition at the Masters happens in the shops.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Her body curled too; as the weeks turned to months, she shrank into herself like the stiffest of fetuses, shrivelling, her skin sallow and waxy.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
Let’s say they’re stiffs and they’re stupid people, and they say, ‘Well, we really have no choice.’
From Washington Post ● Dec. 6, 2022
Politico also reported that for his legal services, Kise will be paid by Trump, who regularly stiffs lawyers and business partners when it comes time to sign off on the bill.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2022
That honor will always go to John Wooden, with his 10 national championships in an era when the tournament contained no stiffs, but only conference champions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2022
Iceland has achieved the holy grail for working stiffs: same pay for shorter hours.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2021
"Just between ourselves, Blore, and taking into account that we'll probably both be a couple of stiffs before another day is out, you did indulge in that spot of perjury, I suppose?"
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
Fresh Tape recently sued LIV, alleging that it had stiffed the Colorado-based small business to the tune of $1.2 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
DuBon had been stiffed on a painting job a few weeks earlier — an employer simply refused to pay — and started going to Casa Latina instead of Home Depot.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
Thousands of private vendors who supplied the state with goods and services got stiffed after July 1.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
He has taken away people’s jobs and reportedly stiffed much smaller businesses on payments.
From Slate ● Apr. 23, 2023
Just my luck, that day somebody had stiffed him $250 for making a dent in a garage door while he was on a job.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
Any reform plan from a committee would still require lawmakers to cast a difficult vote exposing them to charges of overtaxing working Americans or stiffing retirees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
“Under Musk’s control, Twitter has become a scofflaw, stiffing employees, landlords, vendors, and others,” says the lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
“They are just stiffing everyone,” said Jayson Woodbridge, a California winemaker who had a reservation for a weeklong stay at the hotel to attend his daughter’s graduation in the area.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2022
One of them, you might say, was Hollywood’s most notorious tightwad, staving off the terror of poverty by stiffing servants and handing houseguests itemized bills.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2020
“If you’re not getting commissions, Becker’s stiffing you.”
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Vocabulary lists containing stiff
Engineering - Introductory
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Civil Engineering
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Engineering - Middle School
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