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
Lynch also started to go viral for seemingly stiff-arming a Seahawks player who got too close to his camera.
—
James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025
With nowhere to distribute the football, Rodgers broke the pocket and scampered to the sideline, stiff-arming Sawyer before ducking out of bounds.
—Mike Defabo, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2025
On the first one, Andrews punctuated a long catch by stiff-arming Wiggins.
—Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 29 July 2025
There’s probably not a football fan alive who doesn’t love to see a ball carrier use a good stiff-arm to knock a defender to the ground.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2025
Canada and Denmark currently offer a striking contrast in playbooks for responding to a suddenly hostile U.S. While Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is taking a stiff-arm tactic for the moment, others are like the Danes and trying to accommodate Trump’s impulses.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 11 Mar. 2025
And his actions to stiff-arm Congress by ignoring laws and funding instructions during his 100-day blitz of executive directives have stoked mistrust among Democrats in both chambers.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 6 Feb. 2025
Daniels mustered an escape with a stiff-arm and lateral burst.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025
Andrew Greif Two stiff-arms and 24 yards later, Philadelphia tight end Dallas Goedert turned a second-and-1 situation into a touchdown for the Eagles.
—NBC News, 13 Jan. 2025
James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025
With nowhere to distribute the football, Rodgers broke the pocket and scampered to the sideline, stiff-arming Sawyer before ducking out of bounds.
—Mike Defabo, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2025
On the first one, Andrews punctuated a long catch by stiff-arming Wiggins.
—Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 29 July 2025
There’s probably not a football fan alive who doesn’t love to see a ball carrier use a good stiff-arm to knock a defender to the ground.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2025
Canada and Denmark currently offer a striking contrast in playbooks for responding to a suddenly hostile U.S. While Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is taking a stiff-arm tactic for the moment, others are like the Danes and trying to accommodate Trump’s impulses.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 11 Mar. 2025
And his actions to stiff-arm Congress by ignoring laws and funding instructions during his 100-day blitz of executive directives have stoked mistrust among Democrats in both chambers.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 6 Feb. 2025
Daniels mustered an escape with a stiff-arm and lateral burst.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025
Andrew Greif Two stiff-arms and 24 yards later, Philadelphia tight end Dallas Goedert turned a second-and-1 situation into a touchdown for the Eagles.
—NBC News, 13 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stiff-arm
Verb
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In the 1960s, astronauts munched on quick and compact snacks called Space Food Sticks that were generally made with wheat flour, sugar, protein isolate, dry milk and flavorings.—
Bethany Thayer,
Freep.com,
9 Aug. 2025
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Expanding military operations in Gaza would put the lives of countless Palestinians and the roughly 20 remaining Israeli hostages at risk while further isolating Israel internationally.—
Sonam Sheth
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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He is preoccupied with squaring the circle: purveying great, affordable coffee that doesn’t stiff the producer.—
Nina Caplan,
Travel + Leisure,
14 July 2025
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Say goodbye to stiff towels with these tips for how to make towels soft again.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
6 July 2025
Verb
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Evers himself rejected Underly’s request to repeal a state law requiring teachers to pass the Foundations of Reading Test to obtain certain teaching licenses.—
Rory Linnane,
jsonline.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Hall has rejected Puri's recommendation to reinstate Farhat as the Democratic appropriations chair, made in a letter that blasted the speaker's approach to budget negotiations.—
Clara Hendrickson,
Freep.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Like Einstein, Brassard feels repulsed by the way the particles in the Bell experiment seem to have firsthand awareness of each other despite being separated by, in principle, light-years of space.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Aug. 2025
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This is something that finally repulses Ivor, and that Orla also grapples with.—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
27 July 2025
Verb
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Consolidation has been another trend, with some fretting over Amazon merging Wondery into Audible and cutting staff.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Aug. 2025
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The farm is closed on Monday, but is open every day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Atkins-Johnson Farm and Museum Sunflowers are available to visitors to cut for themselves in August at Big Shoal Farm, located at the Atkins-Johnson Farm and Museum, 4109 NE Pleasant Valley Road in Gladstone.—
Joseph Hernandez
August 14,
Kansas City Star,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Some types of soil and environmental conditions repel water, leaving plant roots and cells depleted of moisture.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
16 Aug. 2025
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Your strongest beliefs repel the wrong people and magnetize the right ones.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The fact that both The Bear and Nobody Wants This submitted multiple episodes and ended up snubbed will perhaps be a cautionary tale next year.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
2 Aug. 2025
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After being snubbed by Lollapalooza in 1995, Sharon Osbourne launched Ozzfest—a touring festival that ran until 2018 and became a staple of the metal scene.—
Amanda Castro
Gabe Whisnant
Anna Commander
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 July 2025
Verb
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Related article Gay rights icon Harvey Milk’s legacy slighted by decision to rename Navy ship Wald says that waiting to transition can create additional psychological distress for a child and can raise their risk of depression, suicidality, self-harm or substance misuse.—
Jen Christensen,
CNN Money,
18 June 2025
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Despite Meg’s efforts to connect, Ellen (Kyra Sedgwick) repeatedly slights her future daughter-in-law.—
Natalia Winkelman,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stiff-arm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stiff-arm. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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