How to use stiffen in a sentence

26 example sentences · verb

Stiffen means to make stiff. Example: “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.”

Examples of stiffen by meaning

verbTo 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.1986, Melvin Dixon, “The Boy with Beer”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 33
Criminal prosecutions of abusers are generally the responsibility of local authorities, but the act stiffened sentences for stalking under federal law.2013 March 7, “President signs Violence Against Women Act”, in CNN
It followed a sequence of functions: a machine cuts cloth panels to be sewn, the panels are drenched with the polymer and stiffened, a robotic arm uses suction cups to lift each panel and position it in a sewing machine.2016 October 11, Parija Kavilanz, “This robot makes a T-shirt from start to finish”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 19 Mar...

verbTo become stiff.

Bewildered by the unexpected greeting, my son stiffened, but managed a polite answer.2003, Yoko Ogawa, The Housekeeper and the Professor
He does note that fascia, like most connective tissue in the body, stiffens with age, overuse and injury.2018 November 8, Dr. Melina Jampolis, “The real science behind fascia ailments”, in CNN

More sentences with stiffen

In microgravity their arteries are thickening and stiffening and the muscle of the heart weakening and shrinking.2023, Samantha Harvey, Orbital, Jonathan Cape, page 25. From the entry microgravity
Human lung fibroblasts are able to grow into 3D collagenated and stiffened matrices under specific conditions.2015 July 1, Vanesa Vicens-Zygmunt et al., “Fibroblast viability and phenotypic changes within glycated stiffened three-dimensional…. From the entry collagenated
Malkom must have scented her then, because he stiffened, rattling his chains.2010, Kresley Cole, chapter 24, in Demon from the Dark (The Immortals After Dark; 10), New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN. From the entry takesie-backsies
This also explains why rubber deforms easily at first, then stiffens as strain increases.2006, Cycle World Magazine, volume 45, number 1, page 1. From the entry jump rope
He had buried his mouth in Ada's nuque, when she stiffened and raised a warning finger.1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 158. From the entry nuque
He told us he'd almost stepped on Ellen's body that night—dead and stiffening.1927 October, Rudyard Kipling, “Fairy-Kist”, in Limits and Renewals, Dominions edition, London: Macmillan and Co., […], published 1932…. From the entry panic
A little sugar added to the water in which the overcloth is dampened will stiffen the lace.1913, Philippine Craftsman - Volume 2, Issue 6, page 373. From the entry overcloth
My spiritual backbone stiffened, and I held my head high, looking all men in the eyes.1900, Jack London, The Dignity of Dollars. From the entry hogskin
However, due to contractures or post mortem stiffening of the body, a postero-anterior babygram may be preferable to antero-posterior babygram.2014, Marta C. Cohen, The Pediatric and Perinatal Autopsy Manual with DVD-ROM, page 235. From the entry babygram
This "shocky" peel is related to the increased stiffening and glass-like behavior of the adhesive at increasing peel rate.2003, Jacqueline I. Kroschwitz, Herman Francis Mark, Encyclopedia of polymer science and technology, →ISBN, page 89. From the entry shocky
Wyliecoats, stiffened at the hem and heavily lined with plaiding or scouringis', were made from fustian and grogram.1987, Margaret H. B. Sanderson, Mary Stewart's People: Life in Mary Stewart's Scotland, page 85. From the entry wyliecoat
Here Colgate stiffened, so Will place-kicked a 33-yard three-pointer from the 23 to put the Lions in front 10-7.1944, “Football at mid-season”, in Columbia Alumni News. From the entry three-pointer
The boiled shirt and piqué waistcoat seemed to hold him upright and stiffen his moral fibre like a breastplate.1934 October, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], “Chapter 17”, in Burmese Days, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Publishers…. From the entry dinner jacket
If 't wa'n't for me keeping you stiffened up, I b'lieve you 'd leak out o' the house into the dooryard."1903, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. From the entry dooryard
If 't wa'n't for me keeping you stiffened up, I b'lieve you'd leak out o' the house into the dooryard."1903, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. From the entry allers
“You don’t get to have much fun, do you?” His tone held a note of pity that had her stiffening her spine.2017, Lori Wilde (pseudonym; Laurie Vanzura), Cowboy, It’s Cold Outside (Twilight, Texas), Avon Books, →ISBN, page 182. From the entry grammie
In ego-mindedness you can become hijacked by feelings of fight or flight in the guts, which stiffen your body against the negative reactions you anticipate.2012, Ross Thompson, Judith Thompson, Mindful Ministry: Creative, Theological and Practical Perspectives. From the entry ego-mindedness
Fisher stiffened, but managed to extend a yellowish, choreatic hand to the decanter on the sideboard and pour another glassful for the guest.2005, Sebastian Faulks, Human Traces. From the entry choreatic
They stiffened when they saw Hillier, ready to throw him a salute, but he waved at them jollily as he marched through, singing.1966, Anthony Burgess, Tremor of Intent: An Eschatological Spy Novel, London: Heinemann, Part III, Chapter 3. From the entry jollily
She was a white, thin, wraithy sort of being, with no stiffening in her spine and no real sense in her head.1948, Shirley Seifert, The Proud Way, page 306. From the entry wraithy
Into it, he slowed and stiffened still more, as though he waded through a holding action, biding till the curve and then the forestretch where he could be faster.1969, Quarterly Review of Literature, volumes 16-17, page 423. From the entry forestretch

Meaning of stiffen

verb To make stiff.
verb To become stiff.

Full definition of stiffen

Questions about stiffen in a sentence

How do you use stiffen in a sentence?: Stiffen is used as a verb. For example: “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.”
What is a short sentence with stiffen?: “Malkom must have scented her then, because he stiffened, rattling his chains.”
What does stiffen mean?: Stiffen means to make stiff.

Adapted from Wiktionary: stiffen (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use stiffen in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/stiffen. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.