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Stiff vs Arduous - What's the difference?

stiff | arduous |

As adjectives the difference between stiff and arduous

is that stiff is of an object, rigid, hard to bend, inflexible while arduous is needing or using up much energy; testing powers of endurance.

As a noun stiff

is an average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education, often a working stiff''''' or ''lucky '''stiff .

As a verb stiff

is to fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily.

stiff

English

Adjective

(er)
  • 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.
  • (lb) Of policies and rules and their application and enforcement, inflexible.
  • Of a person, formal in behavior, unrelaxed.
  • (lb) 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.
  • Derived terms

    * stiffy

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • (US) A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill.
  • Any hard hand where it is possible to exceed 21 by drawing an additional card.
  • See also

    * bindlestiff * See also ,

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • 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…].
  • * 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.
  • * 2007 , Mary Higgins Clark, I Heard That Song Before , page 154
  • Then he stiffed the waiter with a cheap tip.

    Anagrams

    *

    arduous

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Needing or using up much energy; testing powers of endurance.
  • The movement towards a peaceful settlement has been a long and arduous political struggle.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012
  • , date=May 5 , author=Phil McNulty , title=Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Chelsea survived and can now turn their attentions to the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in Germany later this month as they face an increasingly arduous task to finish in the Premier League's top four.}}
  • (obsolete) burning; ardent
  • Where flames the arduous Spirit of Isidore. — Cary.
  • (rft-sense) Difficult or exhausting to traverse.
  • * 1974 , Sue Bowder, The American biking atlas & touring guide , page 77:
  • Beyond the river, an arduous slope rises 3286 feet in 13 miles.
  • * 1999 , Scott Ciencin, Mike Fredericks, Dinoverse :
  • Mike looked up from the arduous mountain trail. They'd been climbing for five hours and he was beginning to feel irritable.
  • * 2006 , Jack W. Plunkett, Plunkett's Entertainment & Media Industry Almanac 2006 :
  • Survivor reaches as many as 28 million viewers who watch contestants win a new Pontiac or guzzle Mountain Dew after scaling an arduous cliff.

    Synonyms

    * burdensome * demanding * exhausting * fatiguing * laborious * onerous * strenuous * wearisome