Stiffen Meaning

"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. Finally, the robotic arm lifts the stitched T-shirt off the sewing machine. […] The system could work for most fabrics, with the exception of leather and waterproof materials that can't be drenched with the stiffening polymer. […] Zornow has patents pending in 10 countries for the process to stiffen fabric." — 2016 October 11, Parija Kavilanz, “This robot makes a T-shirt from start to finish”, in CNN Business:

"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: