stiffen
/ˈstɪfən/
"stiffen" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“stiffen” is uncommon English (frequency #53,879 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #53,879
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make stiff.
Corpus desk
Index EN-stiffen · stiffen · English
stiffen · rank #53,879 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #53,879
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH Stavros
Nearest frequency peer: Stavros (-2 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “stiffen”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Staines
Staines
46,129 corpus weight
- stammer
stammer
46,127 corpus weight
- Stavros
Stavros
46,124 corpus weight
- stiffen
stiffen
46,122 corpus weight
- stupider
stupider
46,117 corpus weight
- subjection
subjection
46,116 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “stiffen” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | stiffen |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈstɪfən/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #53,879 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “stiffen” in English
Rare enough to double-check
stiffen is uncommon English at frequency #53,879 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈstɪfən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for stiffen, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stifnen, equivalent to stiff + -en. The correct English form is stiffen, spelled S-T-I-F-F-E-N.
Definition
- 1To make stiff.
- 2To become stiff.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how stiffen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Criminal prosecutions of abusers are generally the responsibility of local authorities, but the act stiffened sentences for stalking under federal law.
It followed a sequence of functions: a machine cuts cloth panels to be sewn, the panels are drenched with the polymer and stiffened, a robotic arm uses suction cups to lift each panel and position it in a sewing machine. Finally, the robotic arm lifts the stitched T-shirt off the sewing machine. […] The system could work for most fabrics, with the excepti…
Etymology
From Middle English stifnen, equivalent to stiff + -en.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "stiffen", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).