stiffness

noun

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

"stiffness" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stiffness” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,516. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,516
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Rigidity or a measure of rigidity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stiffness · stiffness · English

stiffness · rank #22,516 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #22,516
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH staunch

Nearest frequency peer: staunch (-1 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “stiffness”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “stiffness” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

stiffness vs stillness
78% similar

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

Key facts for stiffness
PropertyValue
Headwordstiffness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#22,516
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stiffness”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “staunch” (#22,515), “Stuttgart” (#22,517), “sprays” (#22,514). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stiffness” is #22,516. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around stiffness, anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,516 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for stiffness, with forms such as "sitffness", "sstiffness", and "stfifness". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "stillness", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stiffenes, styffenesse, styfnesse; equivalent to stiff + -ness. Perhaps merging with Middle English stithnesse, stithnysse, from Old English stīþness (“stiffness”). The correct English form is stiffness, spelled S-T-I-F-F-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Rigidity or a measure of rigidity.
  2. 2
    Inflexibility or a measure of inflexibility.
  3. 3
    Inelegance; a lack of relaxedness.
  4. 4
    Muscular tension due to unaccustomed or excessive exercise or work; soreness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how stiffness appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. His stiffness hampered the conversation.
  2. Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.

Etymology

From Middle English stiffenes, styffenesse, styfnesse; equivalent to stiff + -ness. Perhaps merging with Middle English stithnesse, stithnysse, from Old English stīþness (“stiffness”).

This word in other languages

rigidez(Español)rigidité(Français)Erstarrung(Deutsch)rigidez(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sitffness
  • sstiffness
  • stfifness
  • stiffenss
  • stiffnes
  • stiffnness
  • stiffnses
  • stifness
  • stifnfess
  • sttiffness
  • tsiffness

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stiffness - 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.

sitffness2sstiffness1stfifness2stiffenss2stiffnes1stiffnness1stiffnses2stifness1
Edit distance from "stiffness"

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 "stiffness"?
"stiffness" is spelled S-T-I-F-F-N-E-S-S.
What does "stiffness" mean?
As a noun, "stiffness" means: Rigidity or a measure of rigidity.
What words are commonly confused with "stiffness"?
"stiffness" is commonly confused with "stillness". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "stiffness"?
From Middle English stiffenes, styffenesse, styfnesse; equivalent to stiff + -ness. Perhaps merging with Middle English stithnesse, stithnysse, from Old English stīþness (“stiffness”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "stiffness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Stuttgart#22,517spiderman#22,513undecided#22,536Wentworth#22,549

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

staunch11 variantsslumber11 variantsTerence11 variantsTunisian11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list