Verbs

(v)stiffenbecome stiff or stiffer“He stiffened when he saw his boss enter the room”
(v)stiffenmake stiff or stiffer“Stiffen the cream by adding gelatine”
(v)stiffen, tighten, tighten up, constrainseverely restrict in scope or extent“tighten the rules”, “stiffen the regulations”