English verb: stiffen | |||
1. | stiffen (change) become stiff or stiffer | ||
Samples | He stiffened when he saw his boss enter the room. | ||
Pattern of use | Something ----s. Somebody ----s | ||
Broader (hypernym) | change | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | rigidify | ||
Antonyms | relax, loose, loosen | ||
2. | stiffen (change) make stiff or stiffer | ||
Samples | Stiffen the cream by adding gelatine. | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Something ----s something | ||
Broader (hypernym) | alter, change, modify | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | buckram, ossify, petrify, rigidify, starch | ||
Cause | stiffen | ||
Antonyms | loosen, loose | ||
3. | stiffen (change) restrict | ||
Samples | Tighten the rules. Stiffen the regulations. | ||
Synonyms | constrain, tighten, tighten up | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something | ||
Broader (hypernym) | bound, confine, limit, restrain, restrict, throttle, trammel | ||