Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STIFF-EN, v.i. [stif'n.]

1. To become stiff; to become more rigid or less flexible. Like bristles rose my stiff'ning hair. – Dryden.
2. To become more thick, or less soft; to be inspissated; to approach to hardness; as, melted substances stiffen as they cool. The tender soil then stiff'ning by degrees. – Dryden.
3. To become less susceptible of impression; to become less tender or yielding; to grow more obstinate. Some souls we see, / Grow hard and stiffen with adversity. – Dryden.