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
Relevance
Example Sentences
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.
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
-
Traumatic or abusive situations often distance or isolate people.—
David Oliver,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2025
-
Furthermore, the current political and market volatility can become distracting, or even isolating.—
Theodore McDarrah,
Forbes.com,
25 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Trump’s move on Wednesday to place stiff new tariffs on imports from nearly all U.S. trading partners marks an all-in bet by the Republican that his once-fringe economic vision will pay off for Americans.—
Steve Peoples,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2025
-
Felt is warm, easily dyed and stiff enough to hold a cone shape.—
Caitlin Lovinger,
New York Times,
25 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Guo, the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, rejected Trump’s assertions suggesting progress toward a trade deal.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
24 Apr. 2025
-
Hours before the scheduled execution on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal by Mendoza's attorneys to stop the execution.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Still, assuming that Harvard goes ahead with a legal battle to repulse the Administration’s assault, its actions could have important ramifications not just for other universities but also for broader efforts to resist Trump’s encroachments.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
-
After a disastrous trip to Mexico where Irina appeared repulsed by everything Zack did, the couple split and Zack went crawling back to Bliss.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
1 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
With the new order, Trump is threatening to cut federal funds to cities and states his Administration decides are blocking his mass deportation effort.—
Brian Bennett,
Time,
29 Apr. 2025
-
The state says the rule is crucial to meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and cutting smog-forming pollutants.—
David Shepardson,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Martinelli opened his body and tried the old Thierry Henry finish with his right foot… Trossard went with his left, low and hard across the ‘keeper… But both times, they were thwarted, repelled by the firmest of hands.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2025
-
The Sukhoi Su-27 fighter was providing air support for Ukrainian troops and repelling a Russian drone attack when the incident occurred, according to Ukraine's military.—
Mohammed Soliman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Finding football players Some players with rare football instincts get snubbed for lacking a singular positional niche.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Apr. 2025
-
Additionally, a Trump aide told the outlet that the president had avoided traveling to Dover at all for nearly two years straight after he was snubbed by a military parent.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Some in Buenos Aires felt slighted by Francis’ avoidance of Argentina.—
Almudena Calatrava and Isabel Debre,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Even Doncic appeared slighted by the trade after writing a farewell note to Mavericks fans just hours after the trade, which some believed was a fake on social media when reports dropped, became official.—
Scott Thompson,
Fox News,
3 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stiff-arm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stiff-arm. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share