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

“It probably would stiffen their spine,” said Brian Latell, a former CIA analyst who wrote a biography of Castro and his older brother Fidel Castro.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

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

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 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

Part of me feels like leaning into her embrace, but there’s a part of me that’s angry, too, so I stiffen at her touch.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

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

When the cell enters the next interphase and the asters reform, the cytoplasm stiffens again and stabilizes the band.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 28, 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

We stand there until her body stiffens and she pulls away.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

When the heart must work harder because of exercise, heat, stress or another cause, stiffened blood vessels may be less able to accommodate the increased blood flow.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 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

Marinello said that could change if countries stiffened the penalties for stealing cultural heritage by calling it cultural terrorism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025

Sheed stiffened, expecting some monstrous, cackling squeal of a voice.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

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

"Our observations are consistent across multiple length scales and link connective tissue stiffening to altered biochemical signaling in cancer cells."

From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2026

Lupita repeated, sensing Salvador stiffening next to her.

From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty