2 entries under this word
(stĭf'n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. STIFFENED; p. pr. & vb. n. STIFFENING.] [A-S. stifian, L. Ger. stiven, D. stijven, H. Ger. steifen, Icel. styfa, Sw. styfna, Dan. stivne.]
Sense 1. To make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible; as, to stiffen cloth with starch.
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood. Shak.
Sense 2. To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to stiffen paste.
Sense 3. To make torpid. “Stiffening grief.” Dryden.
(stĭf'n), v. i. 1. To become stiff; to become more rigid or less flexible.
Like bristles rose my stiffening hair. Dryden.
Sense 2. To become more thick, or less soft; to be inspissated; to approach to hardness; as, melted substances stiffen as they cool. “The tender soil then stiffening by degrees.” Dryden.
Sense 3. To become less susceptible of impression; to become less tender or yielding; to grow more obstinate.
Some souls we see, Grow hard and stiffen with adversity. Dryden.