Part 796

Bacon.

Stid"dy (?), n. [See Stithy.] An anvil; also, a smith shop. See Stithy. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Stiff (?), a. [Compar. Stiffer (?); superl. Stiffest.] [OE. stif, AS. stf; akin to D. stijf, G. steif, Dan. stiv, Sw. styf, Icel. stfr, Lith. stipti to be stiff; cf. L. stipes a post, trunk of a tree, stipare to press, compress. Cf. Costive, Stifle, Stipulate, Stive to stuff.] 1. Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints.

rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid aërial sky.

Milton.

2. Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff.

3. Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze.

4. Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary.

It is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish argument.

Jer. Taylor.

A war ensues: the Cretans own their cause, Stiff to defend their hospitable laws.

Dryden.

5. Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style.

The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved.

Addison.

6. Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear. [Obs. or Colloq.] "This is stiff news." Shak.

7. (Naut.) Bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to crank. Totten.

8. Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price. [Slang]

Stiff neck, a condition of the neck such that the head can not be moved without difficulty and pain.

Syn. -- Rigid; inflexible; strong; hardly; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; harsh; formal; constrained; affected; starched; rigorous.

Stiff"-backed` (?), a. Obstinate. J. H. Newman.

Stiff"en (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stiffened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stiffening.] [See Stiff.] 1. To make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible; as, to stiffen cloth with starch.

Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.

Shak.

2. To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to stiffen paste.

3. To make torpid; to benumb.

Stiff"en, v. i. To become stiff or stiffer, in any sense of the adjective.

Like bristles rose my stiffening hair.