stiff1 /stɪf/ ●●○ S3 adjectiveadj (comparativecomp stiffer, superlativesupl stiffest) 1 body 身体BODYHURT/CAUSE PAIN if someone or a part of their body is stiff, their muscles hurt and it is difficult for them to move 僵直的;酸痛的stiff from doing something Her legs were stiff from kneeling. 她的双腿跪得僵硬了。
stiff with Her fingers were stiff with cold. 她的手指冻僵了。
stiff neck/back/joint etc Alastair woke with a stiff neck. 阿拉斯泰尔醒来时感到颈部发僵。
I never felt stiff after training until I was in my thirties. 三十岁之前,我训练后从不会感到身体发僵。
The next morning I was as stiff as a board (=very stiff). 第二天早上,我感到浑身僵直。
► see thesaurus at painful 2 material/substance 材料/物质HARD firm, hard, or difficult to bend 硬的,挺的,不易弯曲的 a shirt with a stiff collar 领子挺括的衬衫
► see thesaurus at hard 3 mixture 混合物 a stiff mixture is thick and almost solid, so that it is not easy to mix 稠的,难搅拌的 Beat the egg whites until stiff. 把蛋白打到发稠。
4 difficult 困难的 difficult to do or deal with 艰难的;困难的stiff competition/opposition Graduates face stiff competition in getting jobs. 大学毕业生面临激烈的求职竞争。
5 severe 严厉的STRICT a stiff punishment is great or severe 〔惩罚〕严厉的;严酷的stiff sentence/penalty/fine calls for stiffer penalties for rapists 要求对强奸犯处以更严厉刑罚的呼吁
6 door/drawer etc 门/抽屉等MOVE something OR SB# British EnglishBrE difficult to move, turn, or open 难移动的;难转动的;难打开的 Pull hard – that drawer’s very stiff. 使劲拉——那个抽屉很紧。
7 unfriendly 不友好的UNFRIENDLY if someone’s behaviour is stiff, they behave in a very formal or unfriendly way 生硬的;不友好的 Their goodbyes were stiff and formal. 他们的道别生硬刻板。
Parsons gave a stiff performance in the main role. 帕森斯把主要角色演得很生硬。
8 price 价格 a stiff price etc is high, especially higher than the price etc of similar things 过高的;高昂的 a stiff tax on cigarettes 高昂的香烟税
9. stiff wind/breeze HEMa fairly strong wind etc 强风 10. stiff drink/whisky etc DFDa very strong alcoholic drink 烈性酒/威士忌等stiff drink/whisky etc• A good shower helped, but she would have liked to go down and search for a stiff drink.• Calm your nerves by deep breathing, not by having a stiff drink.• Come on, you need a stiff drink.• A couple of stiff drinks and a bowl of soup afterwards was about all I could cope with.• When he got home he'd have a stiff drink and a long bath, followed by another stiff drink.• I poured myself a stiff drink and tossed it down.• Many people would rather have a stiff drink to help them sleep, than take a sleeping tablet for their insomnia. 11 stiff upper lip CALMthe ability to stay calm and not show your feelings in a difficult or upsetting situation 〔面对困难时〕沉着坚强;不动声色 Men were taught to keep a stiff upper lip. 男人被教导要沉着坚强。
—stiffly adverbadv
—stiffness noun [uncountableU]