Stiff Meaning
/stɪf/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjRigid; hard to bend; inflexible.
adjInflexible; rigid.
Sentence Examples
Shoes are stiff when they are new.
He was stiff about it.
A sheet of stiff black cardboard
CEFR Practice Quiz
After staying in the freezer, the towel became ____ and hard to fold.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His back felt very ____ after he spent the whole day moving heavy boxes into the new apartment.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *steyp Proto-Germanic *stīfaz Proto-West Germanic *stīf Old English stīf Middle English stif English stiff 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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;[…]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache."
— 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
"You have discovered the corpse of Captain Willem of the MSV Majesty. His stiff fingers are wrapped tightly around a small datapad."
— 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Xawin:
"“Yes. I believe she has passed quite a stiff exam.”"
— 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 124:
"To fit them for heavy loads on gradients as stiff as 1 in 45 in tropical conditions, these Class 90 diesels embody several unusual features, [...]."
— 1961 February, “New English Electric diesels for East Africa”, in Trains Illustrated, page 90:
"[Badminton] was popular in India because of the climate, where it was played outdoors, but in England the stiff breezes made it impossible to play without heavily loaded shuttlecocks."
— 1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 134:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After staying in the freezer, the towel became ____ and hard to fold.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His back felt very ____ after he spent the whole day moving heavy boxes into the new apartment.