stiff
    adv 1: extremely; "bored stiff"; "frightened stiff"
    2: in a stiff manner; "his hands lay stiffly" [syn: stiffly,
       stiff]
    adj 1: not moving or operating freely; "a stiff hinge"
    2: powerful; "a stiff current"; "a stiff breeze"
    3: rigidly formal; "a starchy manner"; "the letter was stiff and
       formal"; "his prose has a buckram quality" [syn: starchy,
       stiff, buckram]
    4: having a strong physiological or chemical effect; "a potent
       toxin"; "potent liquor"; "a potent cup of tea", "a stiff
       drink" [syn: potent, strong, stiff] [ant: impotent]
    5: marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable;
       "firm convictions"; "a firm mouth"; "steadfast resolve"; "a
       man of unbendable perseverence"; "unwavering loyalty" [syn:
       firm, steadfast, steady, stiff, unbendable,
       unfaltering, unshakable, unwavering]
    6: incapable of or resistant to bending; "a rigid strip of
       metal"; "a table made of rigid plastic"; "a palace guardsman
       stiff as a poker"; "stiff hair"; "a stiff neck" [syn:
       rigid, stiff]
    7: very drunk [syn: besotted, blind drunk, blotto,
       crocked, cockeyed, fuddled, loaded, pie-eyed,
       pissed, pixilated, plastered, slopped, sloshed,
       smashed, soaked, soused, sozzled, squiffy, stiff,
       tight, wet]
    n 1: an ordinary man; "a lucky stiff"; "a working stiff"
    2: the dead body of a human being; "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" [syn: cadaver, corpse, stiff, clay,
       remains]

Stiff \Stiff\, a. [Compar. Stiffer; superl. Stiffest.] [OE.
   stif, AS. st[imac]f; akin to D. stijf, G. steif, Dan. stiv,
   Sw. styf, Icel. st[imac]fr, Lith. stipti to be stiff; cf. L.
   stipes a post, trunk of a tree, stipare to press, compress.
   Cf. Costive, Stifle, Stipulate, Stive to stuff.]
   1. Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or
      flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints.
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            [They] rising on stiff pennons, tower
            The mid aerial sky.                   --Milton.
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   2. Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated;
      neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff.
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   3. Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff
      gale or breeze.
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   4. Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate;
      pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary.
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            It is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish argument.
                                                  --Jer. Taylor.
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            A war ensues: the Cretans own their cause,
            Stiff to defend their hospitable laws. --Dryden.
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   5. Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected;
      starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style.
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            The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the
            Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved.
                                                  --Addison.
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   6. Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear. [Obs. or
      Colloq.] "This is stiff news." --Shak.
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   7. (Naut.) Bearing a press of canvas without careening much;
      as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to crank. --Totten.
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   8. Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff
      charge; a stiff price. [Slang]
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   Stiff neck, a condition of the neck such that the head can
      not be moved without difficulty and pain.
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   Syn: Rigid; inflexible; strong; hardly; stubborn; obstinate;
        pertinacious; harsh; formal; constrained; affected;
        starched; rigorous.
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