stiffen

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To make stiff.

   • As Willis spoke and tried to smile the voices inside him rang together like a bell, stiffening him and hollowing him and emptying him of his troubled song.
   • Criminal prosecutions of abusers are generally the responsibility of local authorities, but the act stiffened sentences for stalking under federal law.
2. 2

   To become stiff.

   • Bewildered by the unexpected greeting, my son stiffened, but managed a polite answer.
   • He does note that fascia, like most connective tissue in the body, stiffens with age, overuse and injury.

The neighborhood

• synonymstarken
• neighborstiff