Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Stiff

Stiff

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Stiffer
;
sup
erl.
Stiffest
.]
[OE.
stif
, AS.
stīf
; akin to D.
stijf
, G.
steif
, Dan.
stiv
, Sw.
styf
, Icel.
stīfr
, Lith.
stipti
to be stiff; cf. L.
stipes
a post, trunk of a tree,
stipare
to press, compress. Cf.
Costive
,
Stifle
,
Stipulate
,
Stive
to stuff.]
1.
Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm;
as,
stiff
wood, paper, joints
.
[They] rising on
stiff
pennons, tower
The mid aerial sky.
Milton.
2.
Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard;
as, the paste is
stiff
.
3.
Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose;
as, a
stiff
gale or breeze
.
4.
Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious;
as, a
stiff
adversary
.
It is a shame to stand
stiff
in a foolish argument.
Jer. Taylor.
A war ensues: the Cretans own their cause,
Stiff
to defend their hospitable laws.
Dryden.
5.
Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched;
as,
stiff
behavior; a
stiff
style
.
The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians
stiff
, ceremonious, and reserved.
Addison.
6.
Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear.
[Obs. or Colloq.]
“This is stiff news.”
Shak.
7.
(Naut.)
Bearing a press of canvas without careening much;
as, a
stiff
vessel
; – opposed to
crank
.
Totten.
8.
Very large, strong, or costly; powerful;
as, a
stiff
charge; a
stiff
price
.
[Slang]
Stiff neck
,
a condition of the neck such that the head can not be moved without difficulty and pain.
Syn. – Rigid; inflexible; strong; hardly; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; harsh; formal; constrained; affected; starched; rigorous.

Webster 1828 Edition


Stiff

STIFF

,
Adj.
[Gr.]
1.
Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not flaccid; rigid; applicable to any substance; as stiff wood; stiff paper; cloth stiff with starch; a limb stiff with frost.
They, rising on stiff pinions, tower the mid aerial sky.
2.
Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; not soft nor hard. Thus melted metals grow stiff as they cool; they are stiff before they are hard. The paste is too stiff, or not stiff enough.
3.
Strong; violent; impetuous in motion; as in seamens language, a stiff gale or breeze.
4.
Hardy; stubborn; not easily subdued.
How stiff is my vile sense!
5.
Obstinate; pertinacious; firm in perseverance or resistance.
It is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish argument.
A war ensues; the Cretans own their cause, stiff to defend their hospitable laws.
6.
Harsh; formal; constrained; not natural and easy; as a stiff formal style.
7.
Formal in manner; constrained; affected; starched; not easy or natural; as stiff behavior.
The French are open, familiar and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious and reserved.
8.
Strongly maintained, or asserted with good evidence.
This is stiff news.
9.
In seamens language, a stiff vessel is one that will bear sufficient sail without danger of oversetting.

Definition 2024


stiff

stiff

English

Adjective

stiff (comparative stiffer, superlative stiffest)

  1. (of an object) Rigid, hard to bend, inflexible.
    • 1907, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “chapter IX”, in The Younger Set (Project Gutenberg; EBook #14852), New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt Company, published 1 February 2005 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 4241346:
      “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; []. Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.
  2. (figuratively, of policies and rules and their application and enforcement) Inflexible; rigid.
  3. (of a person) Formal in behavior; unrelaxed.
  4. (colloquial) Harsh, severe.
    He was eventually caught, and given a stiff fine.
  5. (of muscles or parts of the body) Painful as a result of excessive or unaccustomed exercise.
    My legs are stiff after climbing that hill yesterday.
  6. Potent.
    a stiff drink; a stiff dose; a stiff breeze.
  7. Dead, deceased.
  8. (of a ****) Erect.
  9. (cooking, of whipping cream or egg whites) Beaten until so aerated that they stand up straight on their own.
    beat the egg whites until they are stiff

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:stiff.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

stiff (plural stiffs)

  1. An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education, often a working stiff or lucky stiff.
    A Working Stiff's Manifesto: A Memoir of Thirty Jobs I Quit, Nine That Fired Me, and Three I Can't Remember was published in 2003.
  2. A person who is deceived, as a mark or pigeon in a swindle.
    She convinced the stiff to go to her hotel room, where her henchman was waiting to rob him.
  3. (slang) A cadaver, a dead person.
  4. (US) A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill.
  5. (blackjack) Any hard hand where it is possible to exceed 21 by drawing an additional card.

Locutions

  • Beat the egg whites until stiff.

See also

  • bindlestiff
  • See also Wikisaurus:corpse, Wikisaurus:body

Translations

Verb

stiff (third-person singular simple present stiffs, present participle stiffing, simple past and past participle stiffed)

  1. To fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily.
    Realizing he had forgotten his wallet, he stiffed the taxi driver when the cab stopped for a red light.
    • 1946, William Foote Whyte, Industry and Society, page 129
      We asked one girl to explain how she felt when she was "stiffed." She said, You think of all the work you've done and how you've tried to please [them…].
  2. to cheat someone
    • 1992, Stephen Birmingham, Shades of Fortune, page 451
      You see, poor Nonie really was stiffed by Adolph in his will. He really stiffed her, Rose, and I really wanted to right that wrong.
  3. to tip ungenerously
    • 2007, Mary Higgins Clark, I Heard That Song Before, page 154
      Then he stiffed the waiter with a cheap tip.

Translations

Anagrams