as in to strengthen
to make more harsh, uncompromising, or severe
plans to further stiffen the already onerous requirements for admission to the elite military unit
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Recent Examples of stiffen
But most recently it has been hit from several sides, most notably stiffening competition primarily from Amazon, off-pricers and membership clubs as well as Walmart and Target.
—
David Moin, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2025
Lane picked up three on first down, but the Otay Ranch defense stiffened, turning back the next two runs for no gain.
—Kevin J. Farmer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Steinman published a theoretical analysis of suspension-bridge stability, recommending that future bridge designs include deep trusses to stiffen the bridge deck and an open-grid roadway to reduce its wind resistance.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Dalhausser, 45, needed a medical timeout early in the second set because his right shoulder began to stiffen up.
—Dan Arritt, Oc Register, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stiffen
David Moin, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2025
Lane picked up three on first down, but the Otay Ranch defense stiffened, turning back the next two runs for no gain.
—Kevin J. Farmer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Steinman published a theoretical analysis of suspension-bridge stability, recommending that future bridge designs include deep trusses to stiffen the bridge deck and an open-grid roadway to reduce its wind resistance.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Dalhausser, 45, needed a medical timeout early in the second set because his right shoulder began to stiffen up.
—Dan Arritt, Oc Register, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stiffen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stiffen
strengthen
Verb
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The farmer's innovation exemplifies prosocial AI; systems that are tailored, trained, tested and targeted to bring out the best in and for people and planet; technology that is designed to strengthen rather than extract from social fabric.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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Economists expect the yuan could strengthen to 7 per dollar by the end of this year — a conviction driven in large part by Beijing's efforts to revive economic growth and encourage more investment onshore.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stiffen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stiffen. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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