stiffen
/ˈstɪfən/verb
stiffen is spelled S-T-I-F-F-E-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 53,573rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, stiffen means “To make stiff” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in stiffen?
| Letters | 7: S-T-I-F-F-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 53,573rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is stiffen?
Stiffen appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 53,573rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce stiffen?
- /ˈstɪfən/
Stiffen has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-stiffen.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of stiffen
- stiffens present, singular, he/she/it
- stiffening participle, present
- stiffened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stiffen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make stiff.
- 2
To become stiff.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stiffen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | raidir, endurcir , se raidir, s'endurcir |
| German | aussteifen, versteifen, verstärken, ertüchtigen, aufdoppeln |
| Portuguese | endurecer |
| Spanish | atiesar, entiesar, endurecer , atiesarse, entiesarse, endurecerse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does stiffen come from?
From Middle English stifnen, equivalent to stiff + -en.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).