Found 2 items, similar to stiffening.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: stiffening 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]
English → English (gcide) Definition: Stiffening Stiffening \Stiff"en*ing\, 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] 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]