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\ ˈstif 
\
\Definition of stiff
(Entry 1 of 4)
1a : not easily bent : rigid a stiff collar
b : lacking in suppleness or flexibility
stiff muscles
c : impeded in movement
—used of a mechanisma truck's stiff suspension
d : drunk sense 1a
b : stubborn, unyielding
c : proud
d(1) : marked by reserve or decorum
(2) : lacking in ease or grace : stilted
3 : hard fought
stiff competition
b : potent poured her a stiff drink
5 : of a dense or glutinous consistency : thick
7 : not easily heeled over by an external force (such as the wind)
a stiff ship
stiff
adverbDefinition of stiff (Entry 2 of 4)
stiff
nounDefinition of stiff (Entry 3 of 4)
stiff
verbstiffed; stiffing; stiffs
Definition of stiff (Entry 4 of 4)
1a : to refuse to pay or tip
stiffed the waiter
b : cheat stiffed him in a business deal
c : stick sense 7a stiffed us with the bar bill
2 : snub sense 3 stiffed sportswriters after the game
: to fail commercially
the movie stiffed at the box office
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Other Words from stiff
Adjective
stiffish \ ˈsti-fish \ adjective
\ adjectivestiffly adverb
stiffness noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for stiff
Synonyms: Adjective
Synonyms: Noun
Synonyms: Verb
Antonyms: Adjective
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Examples of stiff in a Sentence
Adjective
When I got out of bed this morning my back was stiff as a board.
Beat the egg whites until they are stiff. Noun
That poor stiff never gets a break.
They have the kind of luxuries the average working stiff can't afford. Verb
the actress has a reputation for stiffing the press at red-carpet events
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Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective But Evert also underscored the stiffer challenges facing Williams.
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Ravi Ubha, CNN, "After ending her losing streak in finals, is Serena Williams on course to win the Australian Open?," 19 Jan. 2020 Annova LNG, Rio Grande LNG and a third project named Texas LNG face stiff opposition from a coalition of Rio Grande Valley shrimpers, fishermen, environmentalists, neighbors and communities working under the banner Save RGV from LNG.
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Sergio Chapa, Houston Chronicle, "Annova LNG signs natural gas supply deal with Enbridge," 22 Jan. 2020 The project has been met with stiff opposition locally.
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BostonGlobe.com, "Federal energy officials gave final approval Wednesday to a controversial natural gas compressor station in Weymouth, a decision that drew sharp rebukes from local advocates who say the station will pose health and safety risks to the community.," 28 Nov. 2019 Despite support from the state’s Latino and African American commissions and numerous other civil rights organizations, Rojas faced stiff opposition from his own party.
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Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, ProPublica, "Separated by Design: Why Affordable Housing Is Built in Areas With High Crime, Few Jobs and Struggling Schools," 25 Nov. 2019 Japanese ecommerce company Rakuten has also applied for one to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.—to stiff opposition from banks and their trade groups.
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Maria Aspan, Fortune, "Why Every Company Wants To Look Like a Bank—Without Becoming One," 18 Nov. 2019 The Panthers are 3-1-3 on the road, and against stiff opposition.
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sun-sentinel.com, "Road-warrior Panthers blitz Oilers with three goals in first 2:05 of second period," 27 Oct. 2019 The spokeswoman also said Hill faced stiff opposition to including long guns in his legislation.
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Thomas Peele, The Mercury News, "FBI agent dodges fine for AR-15 assault rifle stolen from unattended vehicle in Oakland," 4 Sep. 2019 But in the early and mid-1970s, those were the fault lines in almost every U.S. community, from New Orleans to Boston, where there was stiff opposition to busing.
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chicagotribune.com, "Fact check: Looking at claims from the second night of Democratic debates," 27 June 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb The Pistons were also without Reggie Jackson (stiff back) on Saturday.
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Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press, "Pistons' Derrick Rose awesome again, but mistakes lead to 117-111 loss to 76ers," 27 Oct. 2019 Mariota has heard a lot from friends and fans on how he stiff-armed Jaguars safety Barry Church.
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USA TODAY, "X-factor: A running Mariota gives Titans another dimension," 3 Jan. 2018 Their valuable middle infielders — shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (sore left knee) and second baseman Neil Walker (stiff back) — are dealing with the reappearance of injuries.
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James Wagner, New York Times, "Walk-off Homer by Yoenis Cespedes Lifts Mets in Crucial Series Opener," 29 Aug. 2016 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The Mavs were always criticized for always drafting the big, white European stiffs.
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Dallas News, "Luka 1.5: Reflecting on Mavs star Luka Doncic’s first season-and-a-half and looking at what lies ahead," 16 Jan. 2020 This, of course, might prove nothing more than that football coaches, like other working stiffs, look for reasons to avoid their families at the end of the holidays, too.
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Mike Finger, ExpressNews.com, "Dallas Cowboys’ coaching saga veering into absurdity," 4 Jan. 2020 The animal had a stiff and firm tail, that was thick at the base.
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Fox News, "Tasmanian tiger seen 80 years after it was thought to have gone extinct: report," 22 Oct. 2019 Detroit is a stiff on the road, going 1-5-1 straight up and 2-5 ATS away from home.
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John Holler, USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire, "Detroit Lions at Denver Broncos odds, picks and best bets," 20 Dec. 2019 One is that his erratic actions are tactical moves: unconventional behavior that shakes up the political and diplomatic stiffs, and makes things happen.
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Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, "Trump’s Message: His Critics Are the Crazy Ones," 18 Oct. 2019 In the other corner was Buckley, tall, light-skinned, hair tightly combed and jaw stiff, his words chiseled with his signature transatlantic accent.
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Gabrielle Bellot, The Atlantic, "The Famous Baldwin-Buckley Debate Still Matters Today," 2 Dec. 2019 The fault would seem to lie with Phillips and co-scribe Scott Silver, both of whom seem far too enamored of their combustible, of-the-moment conceit, and perhaps scared stiff by it, to responsibly handle the material.
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Isaac Feldberg, Fortune, "What to Watch This Weekend In Theaters and On Demand, From ‘Joker’ to ‘Low Tide’," 4 Oct. 2019 In one episode, Ashenden reluctantly listens as a stiff, middle-aged diplomat unexpectedly bares his soul.
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Michael Dirda, Washington Post, "‘Ashenden’: the perfect late summer escape read, and a classic," 31 July 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb For Paul Chepkwony, the governor of Kericho County, these plantations are a reminder of the way the British stiffed his Kipsigis tribe of their land.
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The Economist, "A row over who owns Kenya’s land is making life hard for foreign firms," 21 Nov. 2019 Liz goes to punch Janet (Olivia Sandoval), who has stiffed the employees at the restaurant Liz manages, and Janet turns out to be a hologram.
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Los Angeles Times, "‘Lodge 49’ is too good for this world. Which is exactly why AMC should keep it around," 15 Oct. 2019 During the Revolutionary War, Hopkins disobeyed the orders of Congress, plundered British weaponry and awarded it to his politician friends, and salaried himself while stiffing his crew.
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Dan Zak, Washington Post, "Whistleblowers walk among us. Now one has gotten in Trump’s head.," 27 Oct. 2019 Trump the businessman has cultivated quite a documented reputation for stiffing folks.
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Rubén Rosario, Twin Cities, "Rosario: On a slain boy, security bills and baseball trades," 10 Oct. 2019 Last week, he was sued by a chef who claims Brown stiffed him to the tune of $38,000 for a big party Brown threw in 2018.
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Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, "Is Antonio Brown’s helmet half-full or half-empty?," 18 Aug. 2019 For decades, former employees and vendors of US president Donald Trump’s hotels and casinos have accused him of not honoring his obligations and stiffing them on unpaid bills and wages.
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Oliver Staley, Quartz, "Trump announces a new 10% tariff on billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports," 1 Aug. 2019 Morris recalls, saying she was constantly stiffed by club owners who never paid her.
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Jason Ikeler, Harper's BAZAAR, "Maren Morris Is Becoming the Voice for Women in Country Music," 31 July 2019 People who provide services to the government for pay, including public employees, get stiffed.
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Los Angeles Times, "Column: With the debt ceiling fight, Congress and Trump are playing with fire -- again," 16 July 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stiff.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for stiff
stiff
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of stiff
(Entry 1 of 4)
: difficult to bend or move
: painful to move or use also : showing pain in movement or use
: thick and difficult to stir or pour
stiff
adverbEnglish Language Learners Definition of stiff (Entry 2 of 4)
informal : very much : to an extreme degree
stiff
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of stiff (Entry 3 of 4)
informal
: the body of a dead person
: a person who you think is lucky, unlucky, etc.
: an ordinary or dull person
stiff
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of stiff (Entry 4 of 4)
US, informal : to not give as much money as you should give to (someone)
See the full definition for stiff in the English Language Learners Dictionary
stiff
adjective\ ˈstif \
\stiffer; stiffest
Kids Definition of stiff
1 : not easily bent
And because Sarah's clothes were stiff and heavy, the Indian woman made her clothes of deerskin …— Alice Dalgliesh, The Courage of Sarah Noble
2 : not easily moved
stiff muscles
3 : firm and not changeable
stiff determination
4 : not friendly, relaxed, or graceful in manner
… how tense Phoebe's whole family seemed, how tidy, how respectable, how … stiff.— Sharon Creech, Walk Two Moons
6 : not flowing easily : thick Beat the egg whites until stiff.
7 : severe sense 3 a stiff penalty
8 : hard to do or deal with : difficult a stiff test
stiff
adjective\ ˈstif \
\Medical Definition of stiff
: lacking in suppleness
stiff muscles
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Time Traveler for stiff
The first known use of stiff was before the 12th century
See more words from the same century