stiffen (redirected from stiffens)

stiff·en  (stfn)

tr. & intr.v. stiff·ened, stiff·en·ing, stiff·ens

To make or become stiff or stiffer.

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stiffen·er n.

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stiffen [ˈstɪf^ən]

vb

1. to make or become stiff or stiffer

2. (intr) to become suddenly tense or unyielding

stiffener  n

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	stiffen - become stiff or stiffer; "He stiffened when he saw his boss enter the room" change - undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night" rigidify - become rigid; "The body rigidified" relax, loose, loosen - become loose or looser or less tight; "The noose loosened"; "the rope relaxed"
	2.	stiffen - make stiff or stiffer; "Stiffen the cream by adding gelatine" alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" starch - stiffen with starch; "starch clothes" buckram - stiffen with or as with buckram; "buckram the skirt" ossify, rigidify, petrify - make rigid and set into a conventional pattern; "rigidify the training schedule"; "ossified teaching methods"; "slogans petrify our thinking" loosen, loose - make loose or looser; "loosen the tension on a rope"
	3.	stiffen - restrict; "Tighten the rules"; "stiffen the regulations" tighten up, constrain, tighten confine, limit, throttle, trammel, restrain, restrict, bound - place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends"

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stiffen

verb

1. become stiff, set, harden, gel, thicken, solidify, crystallize, congeal, coagulate, become solid The fine-tuning lens in the eye stiffens with age.

2. tighten, tense (up), tauten, become stiff The blood supply to the skin is reduced when muscles stiffen.

3. strengthen, reinforce, harden, toughen Canada has recently stiffened its immigration rules.

Translations

stiffen [ˈstɪfn]

A. VT

1. [+ card, fabric etc] → reforzar; (with starch) → almidonar

2. (also stiffen up) [+ limb, muscle] → contraer, poner tieso; [+ joint] → agarrotar

3. (fig) [+ morale, resistance etc] → fortalecer

B. VI

1. [card, fabric] → hacerse más rígido, atiesarse

2. (also stiffen up) [limb, muscle] → contraerse, ponerse tieso; [joint] → agarrotarse

3. (fig) [person, manner] → endurecerse
the breeze stiffened → refrescó el viento
resistance to the idea seems to have stiffened → la oposición a esta idea parece haberse hecho más tenaz aún

stiffen [ˈstɪf^ən]

vt

[+ cloth] → raidir; [+ paper] → rigidifier

[+ muscles] → raidir

(= strengthen) [+ attitude, laws] → durcir
to stiffen sb's resolve → affermir qn dans sa résolution
It only stiffens our resolve → Cela ne fait que nous affermir dans notre résolution.

vi

[person, face] (with fear, anger) → se figer

(also stiffen up) [muscles] → se raidir

(= become stronger) [resistance] → se durcir; [resolve] → s'affermir

stiffen (also stiffen up)

vt → steif machen; shirt etc → stärken, steifen; (disease) limb → steif werden lassen; resistance etc → verstärken

vi → steif werden; (fig: resistance) → sich verhärten; (breeze) → auffrischen; when I said this she stiffened (up) → als ich das sagte, wurde sie ganz starr

stiffen [ˈstɪfn]

1. vt (legs) → irrigidire; (with starch) → inamidare (fig) (resistance) → rafforzare

2. vi (person, manner) → irrigidirsi; (determination) → rafforzarsi; (morale) → risollevarsi

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stiffen [ˈstɪfn]

1. vt (legs) → irrigidire; (with starch) → inamidare (fig) (resistance) → rafforzare

2. vi (person, manner) → irrigidirsi; (determination) → rafforzarsi; (morale) → risollevarsi