as in to isolate
to deliberately ignore or treat rudely
in his sad and lonely old age, he stiff-armed even once-beloved friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of stiff-arm
Pearsall turned upfield and raced Antoine Winfield Jr. down the sideline, stiff-arming the Tampa Bay safety and fighting off his tackle to reach the end zone just before being hauled out of bounds.
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Michael Nowels, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
In fact, the ghosting of Biden may have to become a stiff-arm from Harris herself in these final days if her bid to block Trump is to have even odds.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024
During the eighth day of training camp, Estime received a handoff before delivering a vicious stiff-arm on edge rusher Thomas Incoom near the sideline, generating a handful of cheers from the Broncos faithful on the berm.
—Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 11 Aug. 2024
Earlier in practice, Latu struggled to shed Yiadom’s stiff-arm on a run play.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 2 Aug. 2024
In the midst of the brouhaha, there was Lorentz stiff-arming a pair of Oilers — Philip Broberg with his right arm, Brown with his left.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 10 June 2024
What Preller has been able to do since has been a marvel of creativity, farm system maintenance, financial two-stepping and thinking that stiff-arms impossible.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2024
Russia for now appears to be stiff-arming the idea of nonproliferation talks with Washington, citing U.S. support for Ukraine, even as the sole remaining arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia – the New START Treaty – will expire in February 2026.
—Sarah Matusek, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 May 2024
Users on social media were quick to compare the move to an NFL stiff-arm.
—Michael McGough, Sacramento Bee, 20 Apr. 2024
Michael Nowels, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
In fact, the ghosting of Biden may have to become a stiff-arm from Harris herself in these final days if her bid to block Trump is to have even odds.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024
During the eighth day of training camp, Estime received a handoff before delivering a vicious stiff-arm on edge rusher Thomas Incoom near the sideline, generating a handful of cheers from the Broncos faithful on the berm.
—Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 11 Aug. 2024
Earlier in practice, Latu struggled to shed Yiadom’s stiff-arm on a run play.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 2 Aug. 2024
In the midst of the brouhaha, there was Lorentz stiff-arming a pair of Oilers — Philip Broberg with his right arm, Brown with his left.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 10 June 2024
What Preller has been able to do since has been a marvel of creativity, farm system maintenance, financial two-stepping and thinking that stiff-arms impossible.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2024
Russia for now appears to be stiff-arming the idea of nonproliferation talks with Washington, citing U.S. support for Ukraine, even as the sole remaining arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia – the New START Treaty – will expire in February 2026.
—Sarah Matusek, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 May 2024
Users on social media were quick to compare the move to an NFL stiff-arm.
—Michael McGough, Sacramento Bee, 20 Apr. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stiff-arm
Verb
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China demonstrated its pull on the world stage by welcoming a delegation from Saudi Arabia with its first pavilion at the event, as well as its close ties with Russia even as that country is isolated from Western nations and their allies due to its invasion of Ukraine.Reuters, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
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Politically, China continues to attempt to isolate Taiwan.David Sacks, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The dialogue was ham-handed, the performances stiff, the villain lame, the story stupid.Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 July 2024
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The 100 percent carbon shaft of the Storm 2 is strong enough to withstand freakish plants that would normally end in snapping, light enough (at 75 grams per meter) to prevent fatigue after repetitive motion, and stiff enough to propel us forward.Stephanie Pearson, Outside Online, 10 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Despite high-profile endorsements and millions of dollars spent on advertising, Colorado voters rejected Initiative 131.Krista Kafer, The Denver Post, 11 Nov. 2024
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In 2018, Arizona voters overwhelmingly rejected school vouchers.Eli Hager, ProPublica, 9 Nov. 2024
Verb
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He is especially repulsed by the behavior of Republicans after the 2020 election.Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 4 Nov. 2024
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Is she drawn to Chevalier and his alleged acts, or repulsed by them?Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
Verb
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With the extra attacker out, Fabian Zetterlund scored a power-play goal with 26 seconds left in regulation time to cut the Rangers lead to 3-2, but the Sharks could not find the equalizer.Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024
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European countries, meanwhile, have some of the world’s strictest targets to cut emissions by 2030 — but have also secured new gas supplies following Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.Reuters, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
Verb
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As this would clearly seem to spell trouble for the incumbent party, Harris has largely tried to change the subject, such as by parading around with Liz Cheney in an effort to drum up support from highly-engaged, news-attentive Republican voters repelled by Trump.David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
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Israel's attack came in response to Iran's 180-missile attack against Israel three weeks earlier, which Israel's air defenses mostly repelled.Barak Ravid, Axios, 31 Oct. 2024
Verb
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In one of the best performances of Sissy Spacek’s career (and shame on all the awards-giving bodies who snubbed it), the Oscar winner plays a woman teetering on the edge of sanity, unsure not just of what is happening but when.Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024
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About lives of three women in Mumbai dealing with work and love and encroaching gentrification, the film, perhaps because of its portrayal of a growing wealth gap in India, was snubbed by India as its Oscar submission.Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Arab Americans are one voting bloc that’s used to being slighted by both major parties.Abdallah Fayyad, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
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In this case, the full-band parts of the concert have no reason to be slighted if someone feels compelled to single out Hart’s section as primo.Chris Willman, Variety, 12 Aug. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near stiff-arm
Cite this Entry
“Stiff-arm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stiff-arm. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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