Hypertext Webster Gateway: "stiffen"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Stiffen \Stiff"en\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Stiffened}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Stiffening}.] [See {Stiff}.]
1. To make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible; as, to
stiffen cloth with starch.
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood. --Shak.
2. To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to
stiffen paste.
3. To make torpid; to benumb.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Stiffen \Stiff"en\, v. i.
To become stiff or stiffer, in any sense of the adjective.
Like bristles rose my stiffening hair. --Dryden.
The tender soil then stiffening by degrees. --Dryden.
Some souls we see, Grow hard and stiffen with
adversity. --Dryden.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
stiffen
v 1: become stiff or stiffer; "He stiffened when he saw his boss
enter the room" [ant: {loosen}]
2: make stiff or stiffer; "Stiffen the cream by adding
gelatine" [ant: {loosen}]
3: restrict; "Tighten the rules"; "stiffen the regulations"
[syn: {tighten}, {tighten up}, {constrain}]
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