1.Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints. "(They) rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid aerial sky."
2.Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff.
3.Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze.
4.Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary. "It is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish argument." "A war ensues: the Cretans own their cause, Stiff to defend their hospitable laws."
5.Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style. "The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved."
6.Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear. (Obs. or Colloq.) "This is stiff news."
7.(Naut.) Bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; opposed to crank.
8.Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price. (Slang)
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