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
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
They stiff-arm congressional subpoenas or demands for information with spurious claims of state secrets, executive privilege or unwritten tradition.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 9 Jan. 2025
There was more than a grain of truth to the lament by Pence and company that the Democrats in Washington were stiff-arming comprehensive immigration legislation backed by Republicans and the Trump administration.
—John C. Moritz, Austin American-Statesman, 11 Feb. 2024
Washington’s offense still controlled the ball and clock enough, however, to stiff-arm the Giants’ late push away.
—Pat Leonard, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2024
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
They stiff-arm congressional subpoenas or demands for information with spurious claims of state secrets, executive privilege or unwritten tradition.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 9 Jan. 2025
There was more than a grain of truth to the lament by Pence and company that the Democrats in Washington were stiff-arming comprehensive immigration legislation backed by Republicans and the Trump administration.
—John C. Moritz, Austin American-Statesman, 11 Feb. 2024
Washington’s offense still controlled the ball and clock enough, however, to stiff-arm the Giants’ late push away.
—Pat Leonard, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stiff-arm
Verb
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What’s driving these gains isn’t just isolated use cases or incremental automation.—
Nirit Cohen,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
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The Republican Study Committee's Maximum Pressure initiative includes 10 bills designed to cut off Tehran's remaining funding, freeze their assets, isolate their regime, and protect U.S. interests.—
Kristen Waggoner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 June 2025
Verb
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The boar bristles are bendy to move with hair but still stiff enough to detangle knots.—
Olivia Cigliano,
Footwear News,
12 June 2025
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The concrete had to be strong enough to withstand all the floors pressing down on one another and stiff enough to hold up against winds that would push against the building during storms.—
Dionne Searcey,
New York Times,
4 May 2025
Verb
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In response, Congress passed legislation seeking to limit a president's ability to wage war against Iran, which was again quickly rejected by Trump.—
Mariam Khan,
ABC News,
23 June 2025
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This can manifest into an AI tool that ends up rejecting qualified job candidates because it was trained on biased data.—
Janice Gassam Asare,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
Verb
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The smell of cinnamon repulsed her, as did the sight of falling leaves, cornucopias, turkeys, cobwebs, ghosts, and that stupid cursive that had become the font of choice for selling pumpkin lattes and a vague notion of cozy well-being.—
Anelise Chen
June 3,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2025
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Kravitz was an assistant machine gunner who on March 6-7, 1951, repulsed with his platoon in Yangpyong, Korea, two Chinese probing attacks.—
Richard J. Gonzales,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 May 2025
Verb
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The prospect of trying to cut open a stubborn 5-4-1 block in the Orlando heat could have become torturous quite quickly.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
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The latest setback was the Senate parliamentarian striking down several provisions of the bill that were designed to cut spending.—
Haisten Willis,
The Washington Examiner,
27 June 2025
Verb
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What to know about the New York City primary The coalition seeking to repel Cuomo has framed the choice facing New Yorkers as one between an older, moderate political establishment and a youthful, progressive vision for the party.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
25 June 2025
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Permethrin is an insecticide that kills or repels mosquitoes and ticks.—
Staff report,
Hartford Courant,
24 June 2025
Verb
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Lindor earning more votes than the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts shouldn’t be surprising, but somehow the shortstop has been snubbed for the All-Star game every year since he’s been with the Mets.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
18 June 2025
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Then there are the two deeply cool long shots representing two incredibly different HBO shows: Emma D’Arcy, who was snubbed for a nomination two years ago despite House of the Dragon’s Drama Series nomination, and Industry’s Marisa Abela.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
24 May 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 4 Jul. 2025.
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