She stiffened when he grabbed her shoulder.
The dogs stiffened in alarm.
The law would stiffen penalties for tax evasion.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
The woman—Rose, apparently—stiffens slightly.—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026 The nail seemed to have expanded and warped and stiffened.—Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026 Moving the kink to one end makes that side soft and the opposite end stiff; placing it at the center softens the middle and stiffens both edges.—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 22 Mar. 2026 The long lull in excitement threatened to sap our energy, and being stuck in a car for four hours after a morning of physical exertion can stiffen the body.—Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stiffen