as in to isolate
to deliberately ignore or treat rudely
in his sad and lonely old age, he stiff-armed even once-beloved friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stiff-arm
There was more than a grain of truth to the lament by Pence and company that the Democrats in Washington were stiff-arming comprehensive immigration legislation backed by Republicans and the Trump administration.
—
John C. Moritz, Austin American-Statesman, 11 Feb. 2024
Washington’s offense still controlled the ball and clock enough, however, to stiff-arm the Giants’ late push away.
—Pat Leonard, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2024
McIntosh once again showcased his burst and contact balance, fighting through defenders, stiff-arming tacklers and falling forward to generate explosive runs.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, The Athletic, 17 Aug. 2024
Pearsall turned upfield and raced Antoine Winfield Jr. down the sideline, stiff-arming the Tampa Bay safety and fighting off his tackle to reach the end zone just before being hauled out of bounds.
—Michael Nowels, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
In fact, the ghosting of Biden may have to become a stiff-arm from Harris herself in these final days if her bid to block Trump is to have even odds.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024
During the eighth day of training camp, Estime received a handoff before delivering a vicious stiff-arm on edge rusher Thomas Incoom near the sideline, generating a handful of cheers from the Broncos faithful on the berm.
—Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 11 Aug. 2024
Earlier in practice, Latu struggled to shed Yiadom’s stiff-arm on a run play.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 2 Aug. 2024
In the midst of the brouhaha, there was Lorentz stiff-arming a pair of Oilers — Philip Broberg with his right arm, Brown with his left.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 10 June 2024
John C. Moritz, Austin American-Statesman, 11 Feb. 2024
Washington’s offense still controlled the ball and clock enough, however, to stiff-arm the Giants’ late push away.
—Pat Leonard, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2024
McIntosh once again showcased his burst and contact balance, fighting through defenders, stiff-arming tacklers and falling forward to generate explosive runs.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, The Athletic, 17 Aug. 2024
Pearsall turned upfield and raced Antoine Winfield Jr. down the sideline, stiff-arming the Tampa Bay safety and fighting off his tackle to reach the end zone just before being hauled out of bounds.
—Michael Nowels, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
In fact, the ghosting of Biden may have to become a stiff-arm from Harris herself in these final days if her bid to block Trump is to have even odds.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024
During the eighth day of training camp, Estime received a handoff before delivering a vicious stiff-arm on edge rusher Thomas Incoom near the sideline, generating a handful of cheers from the Broncos faithful on the berm.
—Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 11 Aug. 2024
Earlier in practice, Latu struggled to shed Yiadom’s stiff-arm on a run play.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 2 Aug. 2024
In the midst of the brouhaha, there was Lorentz stiff-arming a pair of Oilers — Philip Broberg with his right arm, Brown with his left.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 10 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stiff-arm
Verb
-
Many users joined the app in early 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic was otherwise isolating them from community and other creative outlets.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN,
19 Jan. 2025
-
Advocates say the complaints show a persistent pattern of exploitation in an industry, with limited oversight, that employs some of the most vulnerable workers in the country — workers isolated, without social networks, who often don’t speak English.—
Ian Max Stevenson,
Idaho Statesman,
17 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
The dialogue was ham-handed, the performances stiff, the villain lame, the story stupid.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
19 July 2024
-
The 100 percent carbon shaft of the Storm 2 is strong enough to withstand freakish plants that would normally end in snapping, light enough (at 75 grams per meter) to prevent fatigue after repetitive motion, and stiff enough to propel us forward.—
Stephanie Pearson,
Outside Online,
10 Oct. 2024
Verb
-
Greens, blues, and reds remain masculine while rejecting the conventions of more conservative styles.—
Ian Malone,
Vogue,
18 Jan. 2025
-
While the Obama administration rejected Cheney’s outsized role for itself, Joe Biden still became a close adviser and helped achieve administration goals.—
Roy Brownell,
Baltimore Sun,
18 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Today, Ukrainian troops repulsed yet another attack by the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade around Pogrebki, the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies reported.—
David Axe,
Forbes,
7 Jan. 2025
-
Challenged and Denounced Millions were repulsed by Mr. Le Pen’s statements.—
Robert D. McFadden,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Averaging 20 points per game in December was not cutting it.—
Jon Krawczynski,
The Athletic,
10 Jan. 2025
-
The fires have forced nearly 180,000 people to evacuate, cut power to nearly half a million customers and burned thousands of homes.—
Evan Bush,
NBC News,
10 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Invading enemy troops were repelled once Ukrainian forces began fighting back.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
8 Jan. 2025
-
Similarly, in 1990, the United States made no serious effort to deter Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait but then took up arms to repel the attack after the fact.—
Michael Beckley,
Foreign Affairs,
7 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
But one consideration could be Yuki Tsunoda, who will surely be considering his future after being snubbed by Red Bull in favor of Liam Lawson for a seat at the top team this year.—
Luke Smith,
The Athletic,
15 Jan. 2025
-
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter snubbed the capital's elite private schools to enroll Amy, whose elder brothers were already grown, at a public elementary school.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA TODAY,
8 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
The deference being shown to the Big Ten and SEC conferences isn’t sitting well with some outsiders, who feel they are being slighted by the CFP selection committee.—
Kevin Dotson,
CNN,
19 Nov. 2024
-
But also, if a referee makes a controversial call against a fan, that fan's going to feel like they were slighted, just like the players do.—
Felecia Wellington Radel,
USA TODAY,
2 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near stiff-arm
Cite this Entry
“Stiff-arm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stiff-arm. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share