stiffen

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to become stiff or stiffer

   I stiffened when I saw my boss enter the room.

2. 2
   verb

   To make stiff.

   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.

3. 3
   verb

   To become stiff.

   Bewildered by the unexpected greeting, my son stiffened, but managed a polite answer.

4. 4
   verb

   make stiff or stiffer

5. 5
   verb

   restrict

Etymology

From Middle English stifnen, equivalent to stiff + -en.