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STIFF
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The dead body of a human being
Example:
honor comes to bless the turf that wraps their clay
Synonyms:
cadaver; clay; corpse; remains; stiff
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("stiff" is a kind of...):
body; dead body (a natural object consisting of a dead animal or person)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stiff"):
cremains (the remains of a dead body after cremation)
Domain usage:
slang (a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves))
Sense 2
Meaning:
An ordinary man
Example:
a working stiff
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("stiff" is a kind of...):
adult male; man (an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman))
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Very drunk
Synonyms:
besotted; blind drunk; blotto; cockeyed; crocked; fuddled; loaded; pie-eyed; pissed; pixilated; plastered; slopped; sloshed; smashed; soaked; soused; sozzled; squiffy; stiff; tight; wet
Classified under:
Similar:
drunk; gone; inebriated; intoxicated; ripped (stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol))
Domain usage:
argot; cant; jargon; lingo; patois; slang; vernacular (a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves))
Sense 2
Meaning:
Incapable of or resistant to bending
Example:
a stiff neck
Synonyms:
rigid; stiff
Classified under:
Similar:
inflexible (resistant to being bent)
Derivation:
stiffness (the property of moving with pain or difficulty)
stiffness (the physical property of being inflexible and hard to bend)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Rigidly formal
Example:
his prose has a buckram quality
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
formal (being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress))
Derivation:
stiffness (the inelegance of someone stiff and unrelaxed (as by embarrassment))
Sense 4
Meaning:
Not moving or operating freely
Example:
a stiff hinge
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
immobile (not capable of movement or of being moved)
Derivation:
stiffness (the physical property of being inflexible and hard to bend)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Having a strong physiological or chemical effect
Example:
a stiff drink
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
equipotent (having equal strength or efficacy)
multipotent (able to many things)
Also:
effective; effectual; efficacious (producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect)
fertile (capable of reproducing)
powerful (having great power or force or potency or effect)
Attribute:
effectiveness; potency; strength (capacity to produce strong physiological or chemical effects)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
Example:
unwavering loyalty
Synonyms:
firm; steadfast; steady; stiff; unbendable; unfaltering; unshakable; unwavering
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
resolute (firm in purpose or belief; characterized by firmness and determination)
Derivation:
stiffness (firm resoluteness in purpose or opinion or action)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Powerful
Example:
a stiff breeze
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
strong (having strength or power greater than average or expected)
III. (verb)
Sense 1
Present simple (first person singular and plural, second person singular and plural, third person plural) of the verb stiff
IV. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
In a stiff manner
Example:
his hands lay stiffly
Synonyms:
stiff; stiffly
Classified under:
Sense 2
Meaning:
Extremely
Example:
frightened stiff
Classified under:
Context examples:
I beg your pardon, it is the literal truth: he asked me more than once, and was as stiff about urging his point as ever you could be.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
The figure was stiff; but the signature was good for more than that if it was only genuine.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
I was stiff and sore from head to foot, but there was no limb which would not move, no joint which would not bend.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Everywhere I met the same sort of men, with their stiff figures and small waists, all showing the utmost deference to my uncle, and for his sake an easy tolerance of me.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
All the time, day after day, is it that way. They are very soft. They get stiff and sore.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
The coat of arms was on the envelope, and it was addressed in the Duke’s peculiar stiff hand.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“Such paper could not be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarly strong and stiff.”
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
However, the fox bid him be of good cheer, and said, “I will help you; lie down there, stretch yourself out quite stiff, and pretend to be dead.”
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
If a brain aneurysm bursts, symptoms can include a sudden, severe headache, nausea and vomiting, stiff neck, loss of consciousness, and signs of a stroke.
(Brain Aneurysm, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
A permanent tightening of the muscles, tendons, skin, and nearby tissues that causes the joints to shorten and become very stiff.
(Contracture, NCI Dictionary)
