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Stiffener vs Reinforcement - What's the difference?

stiffener | reinforcement |

As nouns the difference between stiffener and reinforcement

is that stiffener is anything added to something in order to stiffen it, such as a support beam, or starch for a collar while reinforcement is the act, process, or state of reinforcing or being reinforced.

stiffener

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • Anything added to something in order to stiffen it, such as a support beam, or starch for a collar.
  • *1856: Charles Dickens, Sketches by Boz: Illustrative of Every-day Life & Every-day People [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC02734176&id=SrTVMMbCz6cC&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=stiffener&as_brr=1]
  • *:... he wears a wisp of black silk round his neck, without any stiffener, as an apology for a neckerchief...
  • *1901: James Nisbit Hazlehurst, Towers and Tanks for Water-works: The Theory and Practice of Their Design and Construction [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC03852204&id=YcmwlV8r9vsC&pg=PA132&lpg=PA132&dq=stiffener&as_brr=1]
  • *:...each of these stiffener'-columns must be designed to resist approximately 26 tons. Sometimes single angles are thus used as ' stiffeners ...
  • *1904: Edward L. Attwood, War-ships: A Text-book on the Construction, Protection, Stability, Turning, Etc., of War Vessels [http://books.google.com/books?vid=LCCN05000778&id=DjcOQwPkxX0C&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=stiffener&as_brr=1]
  • *:The tee bar (b) is used as a stiffener to important bulkheads...

    • reinforcement

    English

    Alternative forms

    * re-enforcement, reenforcement,

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • (uncountable) The act, process, or state of reinforcing or being reinforced.
  • (countable) A thing that reinforces.
  • (in the plural) Additional troops or materiel sent to support a military action.
  • The process whereby a behavior with desirable consequences comes to be repeated.

    • Derived terms

    * negative reinforcement * positive reinforcement * primary reinforcement

    See also

    * punishment * operant conditioning * classical conditioning