noun
- An ordinary man.
- usage: "a lucky stiff"; "a working stiff"
- The dead body of a human being.
- usage: "the cadaver was intended for dissection"; "the end of the police search was the discovery of a corpse"; "the murderer confessed that he threw the stiff in the river"; "honor comes to bless the turf that wraps their clay"
adjective
- Not moving or operating freely.
- usage: "a stiff hinge"
- Powerful.
- usage: "a stiff current"; "a stiff breeze"
- Rigidly formal.
- usage: "a starchy manner"; "the letter was stiff and formal"; "his prose has a buckram quality"
- Having a strong physiological or chemical effect.
- usage: "a potent toxin"; "potent liquor"; "a potent cup of tea, "a stiff drink"
- Marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable.
- usage: "firm convictions"; "a firm mouth"; "steadfast resolve"; "a man of unbendable perseverence"; "unwavering loyalty"
- synonyms: firm, steadfast, steady, unbendable, unfaltering, unshakable, unwavering
- Incapable of or resistant to bending.
- usage: "a rigid strip of metal"; "a table made of rigid plastic"; "a palace guardsman stiff as a poker"; "stiff hair"; "a stiff neck"
- synonyms: rigid
- Very drunk.
adverb
- Extremely.
- usage: "bored stiff"; "frightened stiff"
- In a stiff manner.
- usage: "his hands lay stiffly"
- synonyms: stiffly
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). stiff. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/stiff/definitions/1184400 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "stiff" http://smartdefine.org/stiff/definitions/1184400 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, stiff, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/stiff/definitions/1184400>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "stiff" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/stiff/definitions/1184400> |