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.
Stiff-backed
(Stiff"-backed`) a. Obstinate. J. H. Newman.
Stiffen
(Stiff"en) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stiffened ; p. pr. & vb. n. Stiffening.] [See Stiff.]
1. To make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible; as, to stiffen cloth with starch.
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.
Shak. 2. To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to stiffen paste.
3. To make torpid; to benumb.
Stiffen
(Stiff"en), v. i. To become stiff or stiffer, in any sense of the adjective.
Like bristles rose my stiffening hair.
Dryden.
The tender soil then stiffening by degrees.
Dryden.
Some souls we see,
Grow hard and stiffen with adversity.
Dryden. Stiffener
(Stiff"en*er) n. One who, or that which, stiffens anything, as a piece of stiff cloth in a cravat.
Stiffening
(Stiff"en*ing), n.
1. Act or process of making stiff.
2. Something used to make anything stiff.
Stiffening order (Com.), a permission granted by the customs department to take cargo or ballast on
board before the old cargo is out, in order to steady the ship.
Stiff-hearted
(Stiff"-heart`ed) a. [Stiff + heart.] Obstinate; stubborn; contumacious. Ezek. ii. 4.
Stiffish
(Stiff"ish), a. Somewhat stiff.
Stiffly
(Stiff"ly) adv. In a stiff manner.
