as in to isolate
to deliberately ignore or treat rudely
in his sad and lonely old age, he stiff-armed even once-beloved friends
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Recent Examples of stiff-arm
Longtime Chargers observers know the player with the best stiff-arm in team history belonged to the incomparable LaDainian Tomlinson.
—
Jay Paris, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Now fully cleared, Norfleet has been working to avoid unnecessary hits — using stiff-arms or quick cuts instead of always lowering his shoulder — and is focusing on improving his route running through film study and experimentation.
—Zach Sweet, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2025
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
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
Jay Paris, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Now fully cleared, Norfleet has been working to avoid unnecessary hits — using stiff-arms or quick cuts instead of always lowering his shoulder — and is focusing on improving his route running through film study and experimentation.
—Zach Sweet, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2025
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stiff-arm
Verb
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Meanwhile, the headphones, meant to unify the audience in a shared soundscape, instead isolate viewers into their glowing silos, which feels like an ironic choice for a show supposedly about communal grief.—
David Hochman,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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The procedure typically begins with local anesthesia and placement of a rubber dam to isolate the tooth.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Symptoms progress to stiff neck and seizures, as well as cognitive symptoms, like confusion and hallucinations.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
People.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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There was frost on the inside of the windows, clothes stiff on the floor.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But Democrats have long conceded that the party needs a new vision after voters soundly rejected their presidential ticket last fall, and internal squabbles about the party’s future have spilled out into the public.—
Mabinty Quarshie,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
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China has rejected the accusation and accused the Philippines of damaging the coral reef ecosystem in the waterway instead.—
Nectar Gan,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 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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Others have cut bills by a factor of five.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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Jobless claims hit their highest level since 2021 last week, adding to recent labor market revisions that have fueled confidence the Fed will cut rates in September.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Your LinkedIn profile transformation starts now Your profile is either attracting dream clients or repelling them.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Your attitude can repel your crush!—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But at the Los Angeles premiere, Baena’s half-siblings appeared to snub him on the red carpet by not posing for photos with him.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
10 Sep. 2025
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Unfortunately, the drama from Taylor Sheridan was snubbed by the Emmys this year, though Thornton did score a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Tommy.—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While fans welcomed the news, some of the original cast members felt slighted by the timing.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
9 Sep. 2025
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The negotiations around the three-year deals is complicated due to the fact that MLB is also trying not to slight two of its other rights holders.—
Joe Reedy,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stiff-arm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stiff-arm. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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