| Library / English Dictionary |
STIFFENING
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of becoming stiff
Example:
stiffening his shoulders, he prepared to advance
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("stiffening" is a kind of...):
procedure; process (a particular course of action intended to achieve a result)
Derivation:
stiffen (become stiff or stiffer)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The process of becoming stiff or rigid
Synonyms:
rigidification; rigidifying; stiffening
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("stiffening" is a kind of...):
action; activity; natural action; natural process (a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stiffening"):
rigor mortis (muscular stiffening that begins 2 to 4 hours after death and lasts for about 4 days)
Derivation:
stiffen (make stiff or stiffer)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb stiffen
