Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Stiffen
1.
To make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible;
as, to
. stiffen
cloth with starchStiffen
the sinews, summon up the blood. Shakespeare
2.
To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous;
as, to
. stiffen
paste3.
To make torpid; to benumb.
Stiff′en
,Verb.
I.
To become stiff or stiffer, in any sense of the adjective.
Like bristles rose my
stiffening
hair. Dryden.
The tender soil then
stiffening
by degrees. Dryden.
Some souls we see,
Grow hard and
Grow hard and
stiffen
with adversity. Dryden.
Webster 1828 Edition
Stiffen
STIFFEN
,Verb.
T.
1.
To make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible; as, to stiffen cloth with starch.He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning to the Lord God of Israel. 2 Chronicles 36.
Stiffen the sinews; summon up the blood.
2.
To make torpid; as stiffening grief.3.
To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to stiffen paste.STIFFEN
, v.i.1.
To become stiff; to become more rigid or less flexible.--Like bristles rose my stiffning hair.
2.
To become more thick, or less soft; to be inspissated; to approach to hardness; as, melted substances stiffen as they cool.The tender soil then stiffning by degrees--
3.
To become less susceptible of impression; to become less susceptible of impression; to become less tender or yielding; to grow more obstinate.Some souls, we see, grow hard and stiffen with adversity.
Definition 2024
stiffen
stiffen
English
Verb
stiffen (third-person singular simple present stiffens, present participle stiffening, simple past and past participle stiffened)
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
to make stiff
to become stiff