She stiffened when he grabbed her shoulder.
The dogs stiffened in alarm.
The law would stiffen penalties for tax evasion.
Recent Examples on the WebTatum shot poorly, at times seeming stiffened by nerves; Brown, consistently effortful, sporadically dynamic, came to the rescue.—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 21 June 2024 Her foot stiffens first and then her entire body locks in place.—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 June 2024 Then, Nutt said, Robinson stiffened his body to keep from going into the car and hooked his foot on the door while two officers tried to get him into the car.—Rick Hurd, The Mercury News, 12 June 2024 And the 270 Palestinians killed in the operation — according to Gaza’s Health Ministry — may only stiffen Hamas’s resolve to keep fighting.—Joshua Keating, Vox, 12 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for stiffen
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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