stiff

/stɪf/

//stɪf// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"stiff" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stiff” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,357 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#8,357
frequency rank, English
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Rigid; hard to bend; inflexible.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

stiff vs stir
60% similar
stiff vs stig
60% similar
stiff vs still
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for stiff
PropertyValue
Headwordstiff
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/stɪf/
Letters5
Frequency rank#8,357
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “stiff” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). stiff lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for stiff is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /stɪf/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,357 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 15 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for stiff, with forms such as "sitff", "sstiff", and "stfif". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "stir", "stig", "still", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stiff, stiffe, stif, from Old English stīf, from Proto-West Germanic *stīf, from Proto-Germanic *stīfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steypós. See also West Frisian stiif, Dutch stijf, Norwegian Bokmål stiv, German steif; also Latin stīpes,… The correct English form is stiff, spelled S-T-I-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    Rigid; hard to bend; inflexible.
  2. 2
    Inflexible; rigid.
  3. 3
    Formal in behavior; unrelaxed.
  4. 4
    Harsh, severe.
  5. 5
    Painful or more rigid than usual as a result of excessive or unaccustomed exercise.
  6. 6
    Potent.
  7. 7
    Expensive, pricey.
  8. 8
    Dead, deceased.
  9. 9
    Erect.
  10. 10
    Having a dense consistency; thick; (by extension) Difficult to stir.
  11. 11
    Beaten until so aerated that they stand up straight on their own.
  12. 12
    Of an equation, for which certain numerical solving methods are numerically unstable, unless the step size is taken to be extremely small.
  13. 13
    Keeping upright.
  14. 14
    Of a shot, landing so close to the flagstick that it should be very easy to sink the ball with the next shot.
  15. 15
    Delivered more forcefully than needed, whether intentionally or accidentally, thus causing legitimate pain to the opponent.

Etymology

From Middle English stiff, stiffe, stif, from Old English stīf, from Proto-West Germanic *stīf, from Proto-Germanic *stīfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steypós. See also West Frisian stiif, Dutch stijf, Norwegian Bokmål stiv, German steif; also Latin stīpes, stīpō, from which English stevedore. The expected Modern English form would be /staɪf/; /stɪf/ is probably originally from compounds such as stiffly, where the vowel was shortened before a consonant cluster.

Synonyms

firmfrozenhardhardenedimmalleableinflexibleossifiedpetrifiedrigidsolidstarkstubbornstifftauttightunbendingunlimberunyielding

Antonyms

flexibleloosemalleableslacksoft

This word in other languages

rígido(Español)rigide(Français)steif(Deutsch)duro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: sitff,sstiff,stfif,stif,sttiff,tsiff

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stiff - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

sitff2sstiff1stfif2stif1sttiff1tsiff2
Edit distance from "stiff"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stiff"?
"stiff" is spelled S-T-I-F-F. The IPA pronunciation is /stɪf/.
What does "stiff" mean?
As an adjective, "stiff" means: Rigid; hard to bend; inflexible.
What words are commonly confused with "stiff"?
"stiff" is commonly confused with "stir", "stig", "still". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stiff"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stiff" is /stɪf/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "stiff"?
From Middle English stiff, stiffe, stif, from Old English stīf, from Proto-West Germanic *stīf, from Proto-Germanic *stīfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steypós. See also West Frisian stiif, Dutch stijf, Norwegian Bokmål stiv, German steif; also Lat... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “stiff”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-T-I-F-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /stɪf/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “stir” - see the side-by-side comparison. stiff vs stir
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list