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 ]

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 ]

n. One who, or that which, stiffens anything, as a piece of stiff cloth in a cravat. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Act or process of making stiff. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Something used to make anything stiff. [ 1913 Webster ]

Stiffening order (Com.), a permission granted by the customs department to take cargo or ballast on board before the old cargo is out, in order to steady the ship. [ 1913 Webster ]