Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - stiff

 I. adjective  Etymology: Middle English stif, from Old English stif; akin to Middle Dutch stijf ~, Latin stipare to press together, Greek steibein to tread on  Date: before 12th century  1.  a. not easily bent ; rigid a ~ collar  b. lacking in suppleness or flexibility ~ muscles  c. impeded in movement — used of a mechanism a truck's ~ suspension  d. drunk 1a  2.  a. firm, resolute  b. stubborn, unyielding  c. proud  d.  (1) marked by reserve or decorum  (2) lacking in ease or grace ; stilted  3. hard fought ; pugnacious, sharp drove a ~ bargain ~ competition  4.  a.  (1) exerting great force a ~ wind  (2) forceful, vigorous  b. potent a ~ dose poured her a ~ drink  5. of a dense or glutinous consistency ; thick  6.  a. harsh, severe a ~ penalty  b. arduous, rugged ~ terrain  7. not easily heeled over by an external force (as the wind) a ~ ship  8. expensive, steep paid a ~ price  • ~ish adjective  • ~ly adverb  • ~ness noun Synonyms:  ~, rigid, inflexible mean difficult to bend. ~ may apply to any degree of this condition stretching keeps your muscles from becoming ~. rigid applies to something so ~ that it cannot be bent without breaking a rigid surfboard. inflexible stresses lack of suppleness or pliability ski boots with inflexible soles.  II. adverb  Date: 13th century  1. in a ~ manner ; ~ly  2. to an extreme degree ; severely scared ~ bored ~  3. close enough to the hole for an easy putt in golf hit it ~ and tapped it in for an easy birdie  III. noun  Date: circa 1859  1. corpse  2.  a. tramp, bum  b. a member of the working class; especially a blue-collar worker  c. person a lucky ~; especially a stodgy or excessively decorous person  3. flop, failure  IV. verb  Date: 1950  transitive verb  1.  a. to refuse to pay or tip ~ed the waiter  b. cheat ~ed him in a business deal  c. stick 7a ~ed us with the bar bill  2. snub 3 ~ed sportswriters after the game  intransitive verb to fail commercially the movie ~ed at the box office