stiff

stiff
I
(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)
adj. rigid, inflexible, firm, non-fluid; strong, brisk; difficult, hard; severe, excessive; formal, unreserved; awkward, stilted. See hardness, severity, affectation, inelegance, restraint, pride.Ant., flexible, pliant.
II
(Roget's IV) modif.
1. [Not easily bent]
Syn. solid, rigid, congealed, petrified, ossified, firm, tense, unyielding, inflexible, inelastic, hard, hardened, starched, annealed, cemented, stony, starchy, taut, contracted, thick, indurate, stubborn, obstinate, pertinacious, numb, unbending, thickened, wooden, steely, frozen, solidified, chilled, benumbed, refractory.
Ant. flexible*, softened, soft.
2. [Formal]
Syn. ungainly, ungraceful, unnatural; see awkward .
3. [Severe]
Syn. rigorous, exact, strict; see severe 1 , 2 .
4. [Obstinate]
Syn. stubborn, inflexible, headstrong; see obstinate 1 .
5. [Potent]
Syn. hard, potent, powerful; see strong 8 .
6. [*Difficult]
Syn. arduous, hard, laborious; see difficult 1 .
See Synonym Study at firm .
III
(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.
1. rigid inflexible, unyielding, unbending, hard, firm, rock-solid, inelastic, impliable, tight, taut, *stiff as a board.
2. tight sore, not limber, cold, arthritic.
3. thick dense, solidified, firm, viscous.
4. strong powerful, potent, intense, brisk, vigorous.
5. harsh severe, punitive, merciless, tough, stringent, extreme, sharp.
6. formal, awkward wooden, forced, unnatural, labored, self-conscious, *uptight, constrained, prim.
7. difficult formidable, hard, challenging, laborious, heavy, trying, complicated.
ANT.: 1. soft, flexible, yielding, pliable. 2. loose, limber, warmed-up. 3. thin, loose, watery. 4. gentle, mild. 5. soft, easy, merciful. 6. relaxed, *folksy, spontaneous, warm. 7. easy, simple, unchallenging
IV
(Roget's Thesaurus II) I adjective 1. Not changing shape or bending: inelastic, inflexible, rigid, unbending, unyielding. See FLEXIBLE. 2. Stretched tightly: taut, tense, tight. See TIGHTEN. 3. So rigidly constrained, formal, or awkward as to lack all grace and spontaneity: buckram, starchy, stilted, wooden. See FLEXIBLE. 4. Indicating or possessing determination, resolution, or persistence: constant, determined, firm1, resolute, steadfast, steady, tough, unbending, uncompromising, unflinching, unwavering, unyielding. See PURPOSE. 5. Having a high concentration of the distinguishing ingredient: concentrated, potent, strong. See STRONG. 6. Vastly exceeding a normal limit, as in cost: sky-high, steep1, stratospheric, unconscionable. See BIG, USUAL. II noun 1. Slang. The physical frame of a dead person or animal: body, cadaver, carcass, corpse, remains. See BODY. 2. Slang. A person who is habitually drunk: drunk, drunkard, inebriate, sot, tippler. Slang: booze-hound, boozer, lush2, rummy1, soak, souse, sponge. See DRUGS. 3. Slang. A stingy person: 958 miser, niggard, Scrooge, skinflint. Informal: penny pincher. Slang: cheapskate, tightwad. See GIVE.

English dictionary for students. 2013.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • Stiff — Stiff, a. [Compar. {Stiffer}; superl. {Stiffest}.] [OE. stif, AS. st[=i]f; akin to D. stijf, G. steif, Dan. stiv, Sw. styf, Icel. st[=i]fr, Lith. stipti to be stiff; cf. L. stipes a post, trunk of a tree, stipare to press, compress. Cf. {Costive} …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stiff — may refer to:*Stiffness, a material s resistance to bending *Stiff differential equation, an equation that exhibits behaviour at two widely different scales (the differential equations describing stiff materials are stiff differential equations)… …   Wikipedia

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  • stiff — [adj1] hard, inflexible annealed, arthritic, benumbed, brittle, buckram, cemented, chilled, congealed, contracted, creaky, firm, fixed, frozen, graceless, hardened, immalleable, impliable, incompliant, indurate, inelastic, jelled, mechanical,… …   New thesaurus

  • stiff — ► ADJECTIVE 1) not easily bent; rigid. 2) not moving freely; difficult to turn or operate. 3) unable to move easily and without pain. 4) not relaxed or friendly; constrained. 5) severe or strong: stiff fines. 6) (stiff with) informal full of …   English terms dictionary

  • stiff´en|er — stiff|en «STIHF uhn», transitive verb. to make stiff or stiffer: »She stiffened the shirt with starch. –v.i. to become stiff or stiffer: »The jelly will stiffen as it cools. The wind was stiffening as the storm approached. Figurative. He… …   Useful english dictionary

  • stiff|en — «STIHF uhn», transitive verb. to make stiff or stiffer: »She stiffened the shirt with starch. –v.i. to become stiff or stiffer: »The jelly will stiffen as it cools. The wind was stiffening as the storm approached. Figurative. He stiffened with… …   Useful english dictionary

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