as in to strengthen
to make more harsh, uncompromising, or severe
plans to further stiffen the already onerous requirements for admission to the elite military unit
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Recent Examples of stiffen
The schedule stiffens considerably over the back half of the season.
—
Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2025
Lucy’s Law, among other things, stiffens the penalties for seriously injuring someone in a boat crash.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 9 May 2025
Posture And Mobility: Undoing The Sedentary Spiral Extended sitting does more than stiffen your spine.
—Ximena Araya-Fischel, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025
The Padres’ 10-0 start at home is another franchise best, but at least on paper, the schedule will stiffen Monday when the Chicago Cubs — so far the only team to take a series against San Diego — visit Petco Park.
—Dennis Lin, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stiffen
Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2025
Lucy’s Law, among other things, stiffens the penalties for seriously injuring someone in a boat crash.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 9 May 2025
Posture And Mobility: Undoing The Sedentary Spiral Extended sitting does more than stiffen your spine.
—Ximena Araya-Fischel, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025
The Padres’ 10-0 start at home is another franchise best, but at least on paper, the schedule will stiffen Monday when the Chicago Cubs — so far the only team to take a series against San Diego — visit Petco Park.
—Dennis Lin, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stiffen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stiffen
strengthen
Verb
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Forecasters have warned that Flossie, which strengthened to become a tropical storm on June 29, could become a hurricane within days.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
1 July 2025
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To strengthen your position in this AI age, regularly audit your skills, passions, and industry trends.—
Britney Porter,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stiffen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stiffen. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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