How to Use stiffen in a Sentence

stiffen

verb

• The dogs stiffened in alarm.
• The law would stiffen penalties for tax evasion.
• She stiffened when he grabbed her shoulder.
• When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.
  — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 21 Feb. 2018
• 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
• M2 stiffens the leg and brings its weight down onto its right foot.
  — Paul Boutin, WIRED, 1 Sep. 2000
• Once the lens stiffens, it cannot be made more supple again.
  — Maxine Lipner, Verywell Health, 23 Oct. 2024
• When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.
  — Mark Price, Lavendrick Smith and Jane Wester, charlotteobserver, 21 Feb. 2018
• 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
• His tiny arms and legs would stiffen for a few seconds as many as 30 times per hour.
  — Sarah Elizabeth Richards, chicagotribune.com, 11 June 2018
• 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
• The corset of the 1880s was an armpit-to-hip garment stiffened with whalebone stays, which helped the hips support heavy skirts that hung from the waist.
  — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 6 July 2018
• Missouri would rush for 314 yards, but the Rams defense stiffened in the second half.
  — Kirk Kenney, sandiegouniontribune.com, 8 Dec. 2017
• Perhaps your jaw stiffens, or your heart rate speeds up.
  — Alisa Wolfson, Redbook, 29 Jan. 2018
• 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
• Alabama defense, to its credit, stiffened with the ball first-and-goal at the 10.
  — Erick Smith, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2018
• But that could stiffen the resolve of others to outlast — if not combat — the vandals at the gates.
  — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 5 Feb. 2018
• 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 | [e-mail], 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
• When Lucy jumps onto the swing, causing it to rock towards Ricky, the latter stiffens and keels over in fright.
  — Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, 16 Feb. 2017
• Users could keep a wrist or elbow brace soft for maximum freedom of movement most of the time, for example, then stiffen it for support when lifting heavy objects.
  — New Atlas, 23 July 2024

Last Updated: 19 Dec 2024