stiff

Meaning

Adj

1. Rigid; hard to bend; inflexible.
2. (figuratively) Inflexible; rigid.
3. Formal in behavior; unrelaxed.
4. (colloquial) Harsh, severe.
5. Painful or more rigid than usual as a result of excessive or unaccustomed exercise.
6. Potent.
7. (informal) Expensive, pricey.
8. (informal) Dead, deceased.
9. (slang) Erect.
10. Having a dense consistency; thick; (by extension) Difficult to stir.
11. Beaten until so aerated that they stand up straight on their own.
12. Of an equation, for which certain numerical solving methods are numerically unstable, unless the step size is taken to be extremely small.
13. Keeping upright.
14. Of a shot, landing so close to the flagstick that it should be very easy to sink the ball with the next shot.
15. Delivered more forcefully than needed, whether intentionally or accidentally, thus causing legitimate pain to the opponent.

Noun

1. (Canada, US, countable, slang, uncountable) An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education.
2. (countable, slang, uncountable) A person who is deceived, as a mark or pigeon in a swindle.
3. (countable, slang, uncountable) A cadaver; a dead person.
4. (countable, slang, uncountable) A flop; a commercial failure.
5. (US, countable, slang, uncountable) A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill.
6. (US, broadly, countable, slang, uncountable) A customer who does not leave a tip.
7. (countable, uncountable) Any hard hand where it is possible to exceed 21 by drawing an additional card.
8. (countable, slang, uncountable) Negotiable instruments, possibly forged.
9. (countable, slang, uncountable) A note or letter surreptitiously sent by an inmate.

Verb

1. To fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily.
2. To cheat someone.
3. To tip ungenerously.
4. (slang) To kill.
5. (informal) To be unsuccessful.

Adv

Of the wind, with great force; strongly.

Synonyms

rigid

hard

firm

solid

inflexible

tight

cadaver

corpse

tough

dead body

strong

remains

numb

formal

clay

carcass

body

harsh

tense

starchy

severe

strict

steadfast

unbending

thick

awkward

stubborn

unyielding

stringent

stern

steady

straight

rough

heavy

buckram

potent

unbendable

taut

constrained

obstinate

unshakable

stiffly

stilted

fast

steep

stiffen

crisp

prim

convulse

cramp

Translations

rigide

raide

rigido

steif

tieso

rígido

stijf

rígido

starr

stug

houterig

stram

duro

star

rígid

Pronounced as (IPA)

/stɪf/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: stiff

Inherited from Old English: stīf

Cognate with Western Frisian: stiif

Cognate with Dutch: stijf

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: stiv

Cognate with German: steif

Cognate with Latin: stīpes

In summary

From Middle English stiff, stiffe, stif, from Old English stīf, from Proto-West Germanic *stīf, from Proto-Germanic *stīfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steypós.
See also West Frisian stiif, Dutch stijf, Norwegian Bokmål stiv, German steif; also Latin stīpes, stīpō, from which English stevedore.
The expected Modern English form would be /staɪf/; /stɪf/ is probably originally from compounds such as stiffly, where the vowel was shortened before a consonant cluster.

Sentences

A strong bid may scare your partner stiff .