How to Use stiffen in a Sentence

stiffen

verb
Definition of stiffennext
Synonyms for stiffennext
  • The dough will feel dense and will stiffen into a ball.
    — Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 30 June 2022
  • Look for the Colts to stiffen up for much of this game and disallow Rodgers to run up the score.
    — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 17 Nov. 2020
  • The hour before midnight and the deadline, the grass and ground stiffened with frost.
    — Nic Robertson, CNN, 9 Oct. 2019
  • Once Bud stepped in the ring, his face went cold and his cheekbones stiffened.
    — Tyler R. Tynes, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2023
  • But as the years progress, his joints will stiffen and his muzzle will gray.
    — Emily Anthes, New York Times, 28 Nov. 2023
  • When those air sacs become clogged, the lungs stiffen up.
    — oregonlive, 7 Apr. 2020
  • The Senate panel amended the bill to keep the age at 14 but stiffen the penalty.
    — Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2020
  • The only way to counter normative drift is to stiffen the guardrails.
    — David Montgomery, Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2020
  • Her foot stiffens first and then her entire body locks in place.
    — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 June 2024
  • The surprise is that the glare of that spotlight only stiffens Gun’s spine.
    — Ty Burr, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Sep. 2019
  • In the moonlight, the boy stiffened and looked first at the river and then at Eunhae, who had brought her knees up to her chest.
    — Paul Yoon, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023
  • This is when a frog stiffens its outstretched arms and legs to appear dead.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 12 Oct. 2023
  • This system works like a vacuum that sucks air out from the coffee grounds to stiffen and loosen the foot.
    — Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, 3 June 2020
  • The Falcons must stiffen up against the run, having allowed an average of 189.3 yards on the ground in the past three games.
    — Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 4 Dec. 2022
  • The deal doesn’t include a ratchet mechanism that would force the U.K. to stiffen its rule in lockstep with the EU.
    — Fortune, 25 Dec. 2020
  • The Vikings’ defense stiffened there, stopping four straight running plays and forcing a turnover on downs at the 2.
    — Rick Hoff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Nov. 2023
  • The middle two quarters, the wind was in Serra’s face and the Panthers’ defense stiffened.
    — Mitch Stephens, SFChronicle.com, 7 Dec. 2019
  • Tonic phase: This phase comes first, and causes the muscles in a person's body to stiffen.
    — Patti Greco, Health.com, 9 Nov. 2021
  • But the defense stiffened, and the Browns made the halftime score respectable with the 56-yard TD pass to Landry, who got behind the defense over the middle.
    — Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland, 29 Dec. 2019
  • The suspension tune is rather soft, but the adaptive dampers stiffen in an instant.
    — Jens Meiners, Car and Driver, 6 Nov. 2020
  • The competition only stiffens from here on out, with the playoffs just shy of a month away.
    — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 11 Mar. 2024
  • The 6-3 Crum broke off a 26-yard run on a long second down before ASU stiffened to force another punt.
    — Jeff Metcalfe, azcentral, 29 Aug. 2019
  • Select cuttings 6-8 inches long from the tips of shoots with stems that have begun to stiffen around mid-May.
    — Tom MacCubbin, orlandosentinel.com, 20 Feb. 2021
  • The Ravens’ defense stiffened as the game wore on — holding the Chiefs to 17 points was more than commendable — but the offense never got in rhythm.
    — Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 28 Jan. 2024
  • Though Cincinnati stiffened after that, the damage had been done in a 23-17 defeat.
    — David Ginsburg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2019
  • Fortunately for the Seahawks, the defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs.
    — oregonlive, 6 Jan. 2020
  • Butter: Helps thicken and stiffen the texture of the pudding for clean slicing.
    — Pam Lolley, Southern Living, 3 Nov. 2023
  • After a tough start, their defense stiffened, and their offense started to find a flow.
    — NBC News, 9 Jan. 2024
  • Then, just minutes later, Dion couldn’t talk because her body had stiffened up so badly.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 12 June 2024
  • Just as its rhetoric and public messaging about Russia have stiffened, India has also sought to strengthen ties with Western states.
    — Happymon Jacob, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stiffen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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