different between stiff vs refractory
stiff
English
Etymology
From Middle English stiff, stiffe, stif, from Old English st?f, from Proto-Germanic *st?faz (compare West Frisian stiif,Dutch stijf, Norwegian Bokmål stiv, German steif), from Proto-Indo-European *steypós (compare Latin st?pes, st?p?, from which English stevedore).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /st?f/
- Rhymes: -?f
Adjective
stiff (comparative stiffer, superlative stiffest)
- (of an object) Rigid; hard to bend; inflexible.
- “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; […]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.
- (figuratively, of policies and rules and their application and enforcement) Inflexible; rigid.
- (of a person) Formal in behavior; unrelaxed.
- (colloquial) Harsh, severe.
- (of muscles or parts of the body) Painful as a result of excessive or unaccustomed exercise.
- Potent.
- Dead, deceased.
- (of a penis) Erect.
- (cooking, of whipping cream or egg whites) Beaten until so aerated that they stand up straight on their own.
- beat the egg whites until they are stiff
- (mathematics) Of an equation: for which certain numerical solving methods are numerically unstable, unless the step size is taken to be extremely small.
- (nautical) Keeping upright.
Quotations
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:stiff.
Derived terms
- bored stiff, scared stiff
- stiff-lipped, stiff upper lip
- stiffy
Translations
Noun
stiff (countable and uncountable, plural stiffs)
- (slang) An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education, often a working stiff or lucky stiff.
- A Working Stiff's Manifesto: A Memoir of Thirty Jobs I Quit, Nine That Fired Me, and Three I Can't Remember was published in 2003.
- (slang) A person who is deceived, as a mark or pigeon in a swindle.
- She convinced the stiff to go to her hotel room, where her henchman was waiting to rob him.
- (slang) A cadaver; a dead person.
- (slang) A flop; a commercial failure.
- 1994, Andy Dougan, The actors' director: Richard Attenborough behind the camera (page 63)
- If the movie was a stiff it wasn't any of their specific faults. They were all in it together and they were jobbed in and jobbed out for two weeks and gone and they got a pile of money for their efforts.
- 2016, Ralph J. Gleason, Toby Gleason, Music in the Air: The Selected Writings of Ralph J. Gleason
- They never did sell any records. I don't mean they didn't sell 100,000. I mean they didn't sell 5000. Total. National. Coast-to-coast. The record was a stiff.
- 1994, Andy Dougan, The actors' director: Richard Attenborough behind the camera (page 63)
- (US, slang) A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill.
- (US, slang, by extension) A customer who does not leave a tip.
- (blackjack) Any hard hand where it is possible to exceed 21 by drawing an additional card.
- (finance, slang) Negotiable instruments, possibly forged.
- (prison slang) A note or letter surreptitiously sent by an inmate.
References
- (prison slang: a note or letter): 2015, Eric Partridge, A Dictionary of the Underworld: British and American (page 688); 2015, Noel 'Razor' Smith, The Criminal Alphabet: An A-Z of Prison Slang
See also
- bindlestiff
- See also Thesaurus:corpse, Thesaurus:body
Translations
Derived terms
- do a bit of stiff
- working stiff
Verb
stiff (third-person singular simple present stiffs, present participle stiffing, simple past and past participle stiffed)
- To fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily.
- Realizing he had forgotten his wallet, he stiffed the taxi driver when the cab stopped for a red light.
- 1946, William Foote Whyte, Industry and Society, page 129
- We asked one girl to explain how she felt when she was "stiffed." She said, You think of all the work you've done and how you've tried to please [them…].
- to cheat someone
- 1992, Stephen Birmingham, Shades of Fortune, page 451
- You see, poor Nonie really was stiffed by Adolph in his will. He really stiffed her, Rose, and I really wanted to right that wrong.
- 1992, Stephen Birmingham, Shades of Fortune, page 451
- to tip ungenerously
- 2007, Mary Higgins Clark, I Heard That Song Before, page 154
- Then he stiffed the waiter with a cheap tip.
- 2007, Mary Higgins Clark, I Heard That Song Before, page 154
Translations
Anagrams
- TIFFs, tiffs
Middle English
Adjective
stiff
- Alternative form of stif
Adverb
stiff
- Alternative form of stif
stiff From the web:
- what stiffness shaft for driver
- what stiffness shaft for irons
- what stiff means
- what stiffness shaft should i use
- what stiffness is wedge flex
- what stiffens fabric
- what stiffness shaft for hybrid
- what stiffness should my driver be
refractory
English
Etymology
From Latin refract?rius (“obstinate”), from refractus, past participle of refringere (“to break up”). Originally refractary, refractarie, but reanalysed after other adjectives in -ory.
Pronunciation
- (UK, US) IPA(key): /???f?æk.t??.i/
- Rhymes: -ækt??i
Adjective
refractory (comparative more refractory, superlative most refractory)
- Obstinate and unruly; strongly opposed to something.
- Synonyms: (inanimates) contrary, fractious; see also Thesaurus:obstinate
- 1836, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, Chapter 26,
- Mr. Weller knocked at the door, and after a pretty long interval—occupied by the party without, in whistling a tune, and by the party within, in persuading a refractory flat candle to allow itself to be lighted […]
- 1913 Eleanor Porter: Pollyanna: Chapter 8:
- For five minutes Pollyanna worked swiftly, deftly, combing a refractory curl into fluffiness, perking up a drooping ruffle at the neck, or shaking a pillow into plumpness so that the head might have a better pose. Meanwhile the sick woman, frowning prodigiously, and openly scoffing at the whole procedure, was, in spite of herself, beginning to tingle with a feeling perilously near to excitement.
- Not affected by great heat.
- Synonyms: heat-resistant, fireproof
- (medicine) Difficult to treat.
- 1949, Albert Fields and John Hoesley, "Neck and Shoulder Pain", Calif. Med., 70(6):478–482.,
- Many of the vague and refractory cases of neck and shoulder pain and of migraine may be due to cervical disc disease.
- 1990, H. A. Ring et al, "Vigabatrin: rational treatment for chronic epilepsy", J. Neurol. Neurosurg.Psychiatry, 53(12):1051–1055,
- In 33 adult patients with long standing refractory epilepsy on treatment with one or two standard anti-convulsant drugs,
- 1949, Albert Fields and John Hoesley, "Neck and Shoulder Pain", Calif. Med., 70(6):478–482.,
- (biology) Incapable of registering a reaction or stimulus.
- 1959, Nobusada Ishiko and Werner R. Loewenstein, "Electrical output of a receptor membrane", Science, 1959, 130:1405-6,
- The production of a generator potential leaves a refractory state in the receptor membrane […]
- 1970, S.S. Barold et al, "Chest wall stimulation in evaluation of patients with implanted ventricular-inhibited demand pacemakers", Br. Heart J., 32(6):783–789,
- The […] delivery of external stimuli […] delineates the pacemaker refractory period after the emission of a pacing stimulus and after the sensing of a spontaneous beat.
- 1959, Nobusada Ishiko and Werner R. Loewenstein, "Electrical output of a receptor membrane", Science, 1959, 130:1405-6,
Derived terms
Related terms
- refractive
- refraction
Translations
Noun
refractory (plural refractories)
- A material or piece of material, such as a brick, that has a very high melting point.
Translations
Further reading
- refractory at OneLook Dictionary Search
refractory From the web:
- what refractory means
- what refractory period
- what refractory material
- what's refractory depression
- what's refractory hypotension
- what's refractory shock
- refractory period meaning
- what refractory anaemia
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