stiffness

C1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈstɪfnəs/ See IPA manual

Freq #44601

Meanings

1

noun
firm resoluteness in purpose or opinion or action

A charming host without any touch of stiffness or pomposity.
2

noun
the property of moving with pain or difficulty

They awoke with a painful stiffness in their neck.
3

noun
Inelegance; a lack of relaxedness.

His stiffness hampered the conversation.
4

noun
Muscular tension due to unaccustomed or excessive exercise or work; soreness.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), often referred to by doctors today as juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), is a type of arthritis that causes joint inflammation and stiffness for more than six weeks in a child aged 16 or younger. It affects approximately 50,000 children in the United States. Inflammation causes redness, swelling, warmth, and soreness in the joints, although many children with JRA do not complain of joint pain.

Thesaurus

Word family

Derived forms death-stiffness

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

painful stiffness
Difficulty moving a body part accompanied by pain.

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English stiffenes, styffenesse, styfnesse; equivalent to stiff + -ness. Perhaps merging with Middle English stithnesse, stithnysse, from Old English stīþness (“stiffness”).

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# stiffness

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈstɪfnəs/
**Frequency rank:** 44601

## Meanings
1. firm resoluteness in purpose or opinion or action
2. the property of moving with pain or difficulty
3. Inelegance; a lack of relaxedness.
4. Muscular tension due to unaccustomed or excessive exercise or work; soreness.

## Examples
- A charming host without any touch of stiffness or pomposity.
- They awoke with a painful stiffness in their neck.
- His stiffness hampered the conversation.
- Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), often referred to by doctors today as juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), is a type of arthritis that causes joint inflammation and stiffness for more than six weeks in a child aged 16 or younger. It affects approximately 50,000 children in the United States. Inflammation causes redness, swelling, warmth, and soreness in the joints, although many children with JRA do not complain of joint pain.

## Derived Forms
- death-stiffness

## Etymology
From Middle English stiffenes, styffenesse, styfnesse; equivalent to stiff + -ness. Perhaps merging with Middle English stithnesse, stithnysse, from Old English stīþness (“stiffness”).

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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