Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

stiffener

/stˈɪfənɚ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.62 in modern English

Syllables: stiff-en-er
IPA: /stˈɪfənɚ/

15

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Anything added to something in order to stiffen it, such as a support beam, or starch for a collar.

noun

One of a series of angle bars, Z-bars, beams, rods, or other shapes, attached in order to provide them the necessary stiffness or rigidity.

noun

An alcoholic drink taken to fortify oneself.

Slang

Example Sentences

"[…] he wears a wisp of black silk round his neck, without any stiffener, as an apology for a neckerchief […]"
"[…] each of these stiffener-columns must be designed to resist approximately 26 tons. Sometimes single angles are thus used as stiffeners […]"
"The tee bar (b) is used as a stiffener to important bulkheads […]"
"[…] with this arrangement the cylinders are cast separately from the saddle, and bolted to the frames on each side with a fabricated stiffener between the frames. This stiffener is carried up to form the saddle for the smokebox, and within it is fitted the exhaust pipes from the cylinders to the blast pipe."
"I believe the old man has taken himself off to the nearest bar for a stiffener."

Etymology

From stiffen + -er.

Usage

Slang

Inflected Forms

stiffeners (plural)

Phrases

dingo stiffener

Questions

How do you pronounce stiffener?: The recorded pronunciation is /stˈɪfənɚ/.
What does stiffener mean?: Anything added to something in order to stiffen it, such as a support beam, or starch for a collar.
Where does stiffener come from?: From stiffen + -er.

How to pronounce stiffener

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “stiffener”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/stˈɪfənɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “stiffener”.
Repeat and practice — Say “stiffener” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.