Category:Stiff

Stiff, a. [compar. Stiffer; superl. Stiffest.] Etym: [oe. stif, as. Stif; akin to d. stijf, g. steif, dan. stiv, sw. styf, icel. stifr, 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 aërial 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.)

Defn: 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.