Standard Lemma guide

stiffness

noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: S T IH1 F N AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Rigidity or a measure of rigidity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Inflexibility or a measure of inflexibility.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Inelegance; a lack of relaxedness.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • His stiffness hampered the conversation.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

excessive sternness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • severity of character
  • the harshness of his punishment was inhuman
  • the rigors of boot camp

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: severity, severeness, harshness, rigor, rigour, rigorousness, rigourousness, inclemency, hardness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sternness, strictness

6

noun

Meaning 6

the inelegance of someone stiff and unrelaxed (as by embarrassment)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: awkwardness, clumsiness, gracelessness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: inelegance

Narrower terms: woodenness, rusticity, gaucherie

7

noun

Meaning 7

firm resoluteness in purpose or opinion or action

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a charming host without any touch of stiffness or pomposity

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: resoluteness, firmness, firmness of purpose, resolve, resolution

8

noun

Meaning 8

the property of moving with pain or difficulty

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he awoke with a painful stiffness in his neck

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: awkwardness, clumsiness

9

noun

Meaning 9

the physical property of being inflexible and hard to bend

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: inelasticity

History

Etymology

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

Across languages

Translations

44 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: твърдост (tvǎrdost) — rigidity
  • Czech: ztuhlost — rigidity
  • Finnish: jäykkyys — rigidity
  • French: rigidité — rigidity
  • French: raideur — rigidity
  • Galician: tesura — rigidity
  • Galician: hirteza — rigidity
  • Galician: rixeza — rigidity
  • German: Erstarrung — rigidity
  • German: Starre — rigidity
  • German: Steife — rigidity
  • German: Steifigkeit — rigidity
  • German: Steifheit — rigidity
  • Hungarian: merevség — rigidity
  • Italian: rigidezza — rigidity
  • Italian: rigidità — rigidity
  • Latin: rigor — rigidity
  • Latvian: stingums — rigidity
  • Latvian: stīvums — rigidity
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stivhet — rigidity
  • Portuguese: rigidez — rigidity
  • Russian: жёсткость (žóstkostʹ) — rigidity
  • Spanish: rigidez — rigidity
  • Turkish: katılık — rigidity
  • Bulgarian: скованост (skovanost) — inflexibility
  • Bulgarian: вдървеност (vdǎrvenost) — inflexibility
  • Finnish: taipumattomuus — inflexibility
  • French: inflexibilité — inflexibility
  • Italian: inflessibilità — inflexibility
  • Latin: rigor — inflexibility
  • Portuguese: rigidez — inflexibility
  • Spanish: rigidez — inflexibility
  • Spanish: inflexibilidad — inflexibility
  • Turkish: direngenlik — inflexibility
  • Turkish: inatçılık — inflexibility
  • French: raideur — inelegance; lack of relaxedness
  • Russian: чо́порность (čópornostʹ) — inelegance; lack of relaxedness
  • Bulgarian: схващане (shvaštane) — muscular tension
  • Catalan: cruiximent — muscular tension
  • Galician: maniotas — muscular tension
  • Macedonian: вкочанетост (vkočanetost) — muscular tension
  • Māori: uhu — muscular tension
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stivhet — muscular tension
  • Spanish: agujetas — muscular tension
Real reading context

stiffness in complete knowledge articles

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