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
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Recent Examples of stiff-arm
There’s probably not a football fan alive who doesn’t love to see a ball carrier use a good stiff-arm to knock a defender to the ground.
—
Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2025
Canada and Denmark currently offer a striking contrast in playbooks for responding to a suddenly hostile U.S. While Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is taking a stiff-arm tactic for the moment, others are like the Danes and trying to accommodate Trump’s impulses.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 11 Mar. 2025
And his actions to stiff-arm Congress by ignoring laws and funding instructions during his 100-day blitz of executive directives have stoked mistrust among Democrats in both chambers.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 6 Feb. 2025
Daniels mustered an escape with a stiff-arm and lateral burst.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025
Andrew Greif Two stiff-arms and 24 yards later, Philadelphia tight end Dallas Goedert turned a second-and-1 situation into a touchdown for the Eagles.
—NBC News, 13 Jan. 2025
They stiff-arm congressional subpoenas or demands for information with spurious claims of state secrets, executive privilege or unwritten tradition.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 9 Jan. 2025
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
Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2025
Canada and Denmark currently offer a striking contrast in playbooks for responding to a suddenly hostile U.S. While Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is taking a stiff-arm tactic for the moment, others are like the Danes and trying to accommodate Trump’s impulses.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 11 Mar. 2025
And his actions to stiff-arm Congress by ignoring laws and funding instructions during his 100-day blitz of executive directives have stoked mistrust among Democrats in both chambers.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 6 Feb. 2025
Daniels mustered an escape with a stiff-arm and lateral burst.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025
Andrew Greif Two stiff-arms and 24 yards later, Philadelphia tight end Dallas Goedert turned a second-and-1 situation into a touchdown for the Eagles.
—NBC News, 13 Jan. 2025
They stiff-arm congressional subpoenas or demands for information with spurious claims of state secrets, executive privilege or unwritten tradition.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 9 Jan. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stiff-arm
Verb
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An old John Lennon demo was transformed into a complete song by isolating his vocals (and George Harrison’s guitar tone) and combining that with new recordings from the rest of the living band.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
10 Apr. 2025
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However, because the patient was isolated in a hospital, the more dangerous viruses didn't transmit to others.—
Amy Maxmen | KFF Health News,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Trump’s move on Wednesday to place stiff new tariffs on imports from nearly all U.S. trading partners marks an all-in bet by the Republican that his once-fringe economic vision will pay off for Americans.—
Steve Peoples,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2025
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Felt is warm, easily dyed and stiff enough to hold a cone shape.—
Caitlin Lovinger,
New York Times,
25 Jan. 2025
Verb
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There are plenty of glaring examples, such as Steve Jobs and Google being rejected by some of the world’s most renowned VCs (https://www.bvp.com/anti-portfolio).—
Dileep Rao,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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Superior Court Judge Craig Collins from neighboring Gaston county also rejected it after Tench’s friends and family — his mother, sister and aunts — submitted and read aloud letters underlining the effect Tench’s disappearance and apparent death have had.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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As Saxon and Lochlan try to decipher what happened between them, we are asked to think about why we’re aroused (or repulsed) by it.—
Louis Staples,
Rolling Stone,
24 Mar. 2025
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Even as the Russians massed forces and achieved a three-to-one advantage in troops in Kursk late last year, the Ukrainians held on—deploying mines, drones and artillery to repeatedly repulse Russian mechanized assaults.—
David Axe,
Forbes,
11 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Place bottoms, cut sides up, in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.—
Jasmine Smith,
Southern Living,
14 Apr. 2025
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The country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry cut its gross domestic product forecast to 0%-2% for 2025, down from its previous outlook of 1%-3%.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Results suggested this impact was due to the plants creating a physical barrier that disrupted the movement of cucumber beetles, rather than any effects of repelling them or attracting beneficial insects.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
15 Apr. 2025
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In a press release, the Navy touted the Stockdale's role in helping repel multiple Houthi attacks during transits of the Bab el-Mandeb straight and escort operations of U.S.-flagged vessels in the Gulf of Aden.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Finding football players Some players with rare football instincts get snubbed for lacking a singular positional niche.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Apr. 2025
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Additionally, a Trump aide told the outlet that the president had avoided traveling to Dover at all for nearly two years straight after he was snubbed by a military parent.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Known for unmercifully calling out machismo through her music, Paquita became a guiding light for many women who have been wronged or slighted by their partners, or a patriarchal world.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA TODAY,
18 Feb. 2025
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Each man feels insulted and slighted by the other; both have cause for resentment.—
Rachel Hadas,
The Conversation,
5 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stiff-arm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stiff-arm. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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