stiff
Rigid; hard to bend; inflexibleRigid; hard to bend; inflexible.
Recorded US: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
» Their muscles are stiff.
Ihre Muskeln sind steif. — Dejo
Ihre Muskeln sind hart. — Esperantostern
У них крепатура. — deniko
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRTranslations
7 languagesBy meaning 6
By meaning 1
Examples
85 sentencesMeaning
15 sensesRigid; hard to bend; inflexible.
steif, starr
жёсткийžóstkij, неги́бкийnegíbkij, твёрдыйtvjórdyj
(colloquial)Harsh, severe.
He was eventually caught, and given a stiff fine.
стро́гийstrógij, суро́выйsuróvyj
Formal in behavior; unrelaxed.
steif
холо́дныйxolódnyj, чо́порныйčópornyj
More meanings 12
(informal)Dead, deceased.
steif
окостене́вшийokostenévšij, одеревене́лыйoderevenélyj
(figuratively)Inflexible; rigid.
жёсткийžóstkij, непоколеби́мыйnepokolebímyj, непрекло́нныйnepreklónnyj
Potent.
a stiff drink; a stiff dose; a stiff breeze
кре́пкийkrépkij, сильноде́йствующийsilʹnodéjstvujuščij
Painful or more rigid than usual as a result of excessive or unaccustomed exercise.
My legs are stiff after climbing that hill yesterday.
Having a dense consistency; thick; (by extension) Difficult to stir.
Adding too much peanut butter to your Peanut Sauce recipe may cause your sauce to turn out too stiff.
Beaten until so aerated that they stand up straight on their own.
beat the egg whites until they are stiff
(informal)Expensive, pricey.
Of an equation, for which certain numerical solving methods are numerically unstable, unless the step size is taken to be extremely small.
Keeping upright.
- not moving or operating freely
- strong, vigorous
- rigidly formal
- having a strong physiological or chemical effect
Origin
From Middle English stiff, stiffe, stif, from Old English stīf, from Proto-West Germanic *From Middle English stiff, stiffe, stif, from Old English stīf, from Proto-West Germanic *stīf, from Proto-Germanic *stīfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steypós.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
stiffer, stiffestSynonyms
84 synonyms- rigidly formal:starchybuckram
- having a strong physiological or chemical effect:potentstrong
- marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable:firmsteadfaststeadyunbendableunfalteringunshakableunwavering
- incapable of or resistant to bending:rigid
- very drunk:besottedblind drunkblottocrockedcockeyedfuddledloadedpie-eyed
Antonyms
5 antonymsWord family
27 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.