rigid or firm; difficult or impossible to bend or flex: a stiff collar.
not moving or working easily: The motor was a little stiff from the cold weather.
(of a person or animal) not supple; moving with difficulty, as from cold, age, exhaustion, or injury.
strong; forceful; powerful: stiff winds; The fighter threw a stiff right to his opponent's jaw.
strong or potent to the taste or system, as a beverage or medicine: He was cold and wanted a good stiff drink.
resolute; firm in purpose; unyielding; stubborn.
stubbornly continued: a stiff battle.
firm against any tendency to decrease, as stock-market prices.
rigidly formal; cold and unfriendly, as people, manners, or proceedings.
lacking ease and grace; awkward: a stiff style of writing.
excessively regular or formal, as a design; not graceful in form or arrangement.
laborious or difficult, as a task.
severe or harsh, as a penalty or demand.
excessive; unusually high or great: $50 is pretty stiff to pay for that.
firm from tension; taut: to keep a stiff rein.
relatively firm in consistency, as semisolid matter; thick: a stiff jelly; a stiff batter.
dense or compact; not friable: stiff soil.
Nautical.
(of a vessel) having a high resistance to rolling; stable (opposed to crank2).
Scot. and North England.
sturdy, stout, or strongly built.
Australian Slang.
out of luck; unfortunate.
