(superl.) Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints.
(superl.) Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff.
(superl.) Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze.
(superl.) Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary.
(superl.) Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style.
(superl.) Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear.
(superl.) Bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to crank.
(superl.) Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price.
Example Sentences:
(1) If you turn the bowl upside down, the whites should be stiff enough not to fall out.
(2) The stiffness of the fibre first rose abruptly in response to stretch and then started to decrease linearly while the stretch went on; after the completion of stretch the stiffness decreased towards a steady value which was equal to that during the isometric tetanus at the same sarcomere length, indicating that the enhancement of isometric force is associated with decreased stiffness.
(3) Current methodology for the in vitro determination of aortic and large artery stiffness is reviewed and involves three approaches: (1) the estimation of distensibility by pulse wave velocity measurement; (2) the estimation of distensibility from the fractional diameter change of a given arterial segment by imaging techniques (e.g., angiography, Doppler ultrasound) against pressure change; (3) the estimation of compliance by determining volume change against pressure change in the arterial system during diastolic runoff from the Windkessel model of the circulation.
(4) The maintenance of adequate blood circulation requires a sufficient ventricular contractility; in addition, to eject blood, the ventricles must first receive a sufficient volume, requiring a low diastolic stiffness.
(5) Stiffness was reduced in approximate proportion to the ramp stretch rate, and the reduction was confined largely to the elastic component.
(6) Proof stress, ultimate tensile strength, elongation, and plastic stiffness have been measured and results compared by use of analyses of variance.
(7) In other words, the stiffness of these areas was low and the recovery from deformation was fast.
(8) But the same court also just refused to hear an appeal of a Minnesota woman who's been ordered to pay more than $220,000 for downloading two-dozen songs – a testament to Congress' gift to Hollywood and its allies in the form of absurdly stiff penalties for minor infringement.
(9) The tension-length relation for the unstimulated (passive) cell is also linear between 1r and the elastic limit, but is displaced from the active tension-length curve and is of reduced stiffness.
(10) Bilaterals in summit seasons can be stiff exchanges, where digressions can carry risks: not enough said, too much said.
(11) We measured the stiffness of comparable configurations (1 or 2 bars) under axial compression, four-point-bending in two planes, and torsion.
(12) Tiny, tiny... rodents – some soft and grey, some brown with black stripes, in paintings, posters, wallcharts, thumb-tacked magazine clippings and poorly executed crayon drawings, hurling themselves fatally in their thousands over the cliff of their island home; or crudely taxidermied and mounted, eyes glazed and little paws frozen stiff – on every available surface.
(13) The bone stiffness also correlates strongly with the geometry (area) and slightly with bone mass; however, an unexpectedly low correlation was found between stiffness and density.
(14) Finally, fibrosis may paradoxically reduce passive stiffness if it leads to a thinning of the interventricular septum.
(15) A young male nephrotic patient, who was given small doses of clofibrate for hyperlipaemia, developed muscle pain, stiffness and very high serum levels of muscle enzymes.
(16) Impaired left ventricular stiffness may be an additional criterion for using corinfar in patients with coronary heart disease.
(17) The increase of elastic fibres following denervation and reinnervation represents an obviously meaningful reaction that may compensate for loss of tonic properties of muscle spindles without causing stiffness.
(18) Only the bone-patellar tendon-bone unit had maximum force and stiffness greater than that of the ACL.
(19) The initial stiffness is poorly described by material or catheter gauge.
(20) The stiffness tester and torque meter were found to yield nearly the same measurements of bending deformation for orthodontic wires as small as .007 inch diameter, provided the different bending apparatus are calibrated to each other.
Tough
Definition:
(superl.) Having the quality of flexibility without brittleness; yielding to force without breaking; capable of resisting great strain; as, the ligaments of animals are remarkably tough.
(superl.) Not easily broken; able to endure hardship; firm; strong; as, tough sinews.
(superl.) Not easily separated; viscous; clammy; tenacious; as, tough phlegm.
(superl.) Stiff; rigid; not flexible; stubborn; as, a tough bow.
(superl.) Severe; violent; as, a tough storm.
Example Sentences:
(1) Photograph: Guardian The research also compiled data covered by a wider definition of tax haven, including onshore jurisdictions such as the US state of Delaware – accused by the Cayman islands of playing "faster and looser" even than offshore jurisdictions – and the Republic of Ireland, which has come under sustained pressure from other EU states to reform its own low-tax, light-tough, regulatory environment.
(2) Nick Robins, head of the Climate Change Centre at HSBC, said: "If you think about low-carbon energy only in terms of carbon, then things look tough [in terms of not using coal].
(3) A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed the effects of Surgency, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Intellect on evoking upset in spouses through condescension (e.g., treating spouse as stupid or inferior), possessiveness (demanding too much time and attention), abuse (slapping spouse), unfaithfulness (having sex with others), inconsiderateness (leaving toilet seat up), moodiness (crying a lot), alcohol abuse (drinking too much alcohol), emotional constriction (hiding emotions to act tough), and self-centeredness (acting selfishly).
(4) A lfred Ekpenyong knows first hand how tough it can be to find a secure foothold in mainstream society after leaving prison.
(5) The texture of a food item can be distinguished in hardness, toughness, stickiness, juiciness and chewability.
(6) Even as the Obama administration moves to deal with some of Guantánamo's most notorious captives, it faces tough challenges to closing the facility.
(7) "It's a tough group but other groups are also tough.
(8) This allowed it to claim that it was becoming more professional, tough minded and responsible.
(9) The austerity programmes administered by western governments in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis were, of course, intended as a remedy, a tough but necessary course of treatment to relieve the symptoms of debts and deficits and to cure recession.
(10) And he pleased the audience with an acknowledgement that social work is a tough job and social workers only human.
(11) Trade unions have sought to highlight the insecurity of workers who have been forced into self-employment in the tough jobs market of recent years.
(12) UK negotiatiors, though, fought back hard -- thus Cameron's fighting talk in his press conference ( see 12.46pm ) 12.49pm BST Open Europe tweets Cameron's tough talk on the rebate: Open Europe (@OpenEurope) Cameron: in Feb we reached a clear deal rebate would remain unchanged, since then some have tried to question this agreement June 28, 2013 Open Europe (@OpenEurope) Cameron: I defeated these attempts to change the rebate, it will remain unchanged for this long term budget June 28, 2013 12.46pm BST David Cameron press conference underway In Brussels, David Cameron is holding his press conference now.
(13) The mechanical properties of compressed beam specimens of microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel pH 101) have been assessed in terms of the tensile strength (sigma t), Young's modulus (E) and the following fracture mechanics parameters: the critical stress intensity factor (KIC), the critical strain energy release rate (GIC) and the fracture toughness (R).
(14) "2013 was a tough year for us both in minerals and in oil and gas," Cochrane said, adding that the group had relied on"self help", including diversification which offset some of the challenges in its core mining market, improving operational efficiency, and strong growth in its after sales business, where orders were up 16% on 2012 and which accounted for 63% of revenues last year.
(15) "We carved out a few chances, but it was tough to break them down."
(16) Channel 5 will be hoping for a similar return for its new series, although with the launch audience around a third down on last year's opener, it may prove a tough ask.
(17) Dimon, the charismatic leader of the bank, had enjoyed a reputation as a tough, strict taskmaster, the kind of CEO every bank should have.
(18) Cameron put all of his betting chips on what seemed to be the party's trump card: the "vote for us, we're tough on migration and tough on migrants" strategy.
(19) As well as limited terms for MPs, Grillo has called for a referendum on the euro and a tough line on immigration.
(20) "It's a tough game but our best football has come in this competition and we'll try and show it next week.