'Stiffen' definitions:

Definition of 'stiffen'

From: WordNet
verb
Become stiff or stiffer; "He stiffened when he saw his boss enter the room" [ant: loose, loosen, relax]
verb
Make stiff or stiffer; "Stiffen the cream by adding gelatine" [ant: loose, loosen]
verb
Restrict; "Tighten the rules"; "stiffen the regulations" [syn: stiffen, tighten, tighten up, constrain]

Definition of 'Stiffen'

From: GCIDE
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to stiffen paste. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To make torpid; to benumb. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Stiffen'

From: GCIDE
  • Stiffen \Stiff"en\, v. i. To become stiff or stiffer, in any sense of the adjective. [1913 Webster]
  • Like bristles rose my stiffening hair. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • The tender soil then stiffening by degrees. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • Some souls we see, Grow hard and stiffen with adversity. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]