stiffen
verb
Simple meaning
Severely restrict in scope or extent.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
stifuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈstɪfən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Become stiff or stiffer
“He stiffened when he saw his boss enter the room.”
Make stiff or stiffer
“Stiffen the cream by adding gelatine.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
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More ways to use stiffen
- “He stiffened when he saw his boss enter the room.”verb
- “Stiffen the cream by adding gelatine.”verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.