adjective

stiff

stihf

adjective

Rigid; not easily bent or moved.

"The cardboard was too stiff to fold neatly."

"My neck feels stiff after sleeping awkwardly."

Formal or awkward in manner; not relaxed.

"He gave a stiff, polite nod and said nothing else."

Severe or harsh, especially describing a penalty, competition, or drink.

"The court handed down a stiff sentence."

"He poured himself a stiff drink after the meeting."

verb

Informal: to fail to pay someone what they're owed, especially a tip or bill.

"The customer stiffed the waiter and left without paying."

noun

Slang: a dead body.

"The detective examined the stiff for clues."

How to Use Stiff

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishRigid or hard to move, formally awkward, or (informally) to cheat someone out of money owed.

Common mistake

As a verb ("to stiff someone"), it always means cheating them out of payment — don't confuse it with the adjective sense of "rigid."

Common pairings

stiff competition stiff penalty stiff drink stiff upper lip

Word Forms

stiffer comparative, more stiff comparative, stiffed past tense, stiffs plural, Stiffs plural, stiffs singular, stiffest superlative, most stiff superlative

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Can you complete this real example?

The cardboard was too _____ to fold neatly.

Etymology

From Old English stif, from a Proto-Germanic root related to Latin stipes ("post" or "trunk") — the same root that gives English "stevedore."

Synonyms

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firm frozen hard hardened inflexible immalleable ossified petrified rigid solid stark stubborn

Antonyms

flexible malleable loose slack soft

Related Words

abandoned slow cold warm good loose hard drunk

Rhymes for stiff

tiff biff riff diff jiff cliff sniff whiff skiff Griff spliff tariff

See all rhymes for stiff →

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