Stiff Stɪf Difficult Extra Examples Move Adjective Sheet

• a sheet of stiff black cardboard
• scrub away any residue with a stiff brush.
• the windows were stiff and she couldn't get them open.
• i'm really stiff after that bike ride yesterday.

stiff

1. difficult to bend or move
• a sheet of stiff black cardboard
• Scrub away any residue with a stiff brush.
• The windows were stiff and she couldn't get them open.

Extra Examples

• My trousers were getting stiff with mud.
• She lay stiff and still beside him.
• The captain stood as stiff as a board.
• The clothes were stiff with dust and grease.
• It was an old blanket, frayed and stiff with dirt.
• The brown hair was coarse and stiff.
2. when a person or a part of their body is stiff, their muscles hurt when they move them
• I'm really stiff after that bike ride yesterday.
• I've got a stiff neck.

Extra Examples

• I've got a stiff neck from sleeping in a draught.
• You'll get stiff if you don't have a hot bath.
• My fingers had gone stiff with cold.
• My arm's gone all stiff.
• I was stiff from kneeling.
• He felt stiff all over.
3. thick; difficult to stir (= move around with a spoon)
• Whisk the egg whites until stiff.
4. more difficult or severe than usual
• It was a stiff climb to the top of the hill.
• The company faces stiff competition from its rivals.
• The new proposals have met with stiff opposition.
• The local tribes initially offered stiff resistance to the invaders.
• Firms face stiff penalties for breaking the rules.
• a stiff breeze/wind (= one that blows strongly)

Extra Examples

• The course represents a stiff test of a golfer's skills.
• in the face of some very stiff competition
• Their punishment seemed rather stiff.
• There are stiff fines for illegal dumping.
5. not friendly or relaxed
• The speech he made to welcome them was stiff and formal.

Extra Examples

• His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.
• She was aware that her words sounded stiff.
• He had the accent and the stiff manner of a school house master.
6. costing a lot or too much
• There's a stiff $30 entrance fee to the exhibition.
7. strong; containing a lot of alcohol
• a stiff whisky
• ‘What you need is a stiff drink,’ he told her.
8. to keep calm and hide your feelings when you are in pain or in a difficult situation
• He was taught to keep a stiff upper lip and never to cry in public.
• Their reaction contrasts sharply with the stiff upper lip of the English.

Word Origin

• Old English stīf, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stijf.