[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

stiffening \stiff"ening\, n.
   1. act or process of making stiff.
      1913 webster

   2. something used to make anything stiff.
      1913 webster

   stiffening order com., a permission granted by the
      customs department to take cargo or ballast on board
      before the old cargo is out, in order to steady the ship.
      1913 webster
see also:
stiffening order 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

stiffen \stiff"en\, v. t. imp.  p. p. stiffened; p. pr. 
   vb. n. stiffening. see stiff.
   1. to make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible; as, to
      stiffen cloth with starch.
      1913 webster

            stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood. --shak.
      1913 webster

   2. to inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to
      stiffen paste.
      1913 webster

   3. to make torpid; to benumb.
      1913 webster
see also:
stiffened stiffening stiff 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

stiffening
     n 1: the act of becoming stiff; "stiffening his shoulders, he
          prepared to advance"
     2: the process of becoming stiff or rigid syn: rigidifying,
        rigidification
see also:
rigidifying rigidification 

Stiffening >> S Words
Stiffening, definition of term: Stiffening
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