stiffening up
Muscles becoming taut
Stiffening up describes the process of becoming stiff or rigid, especially muscles and joints growing sore and less flexible: My back is stiffening up from sitting too long, He could feel his shoulders stiffening up in the cold.
It often implies gradual onset—the body protesting after exertion, injury, or prolonged stillness.
- reinforcementAdding support or encouragement
- rigidityState of being unbending
- stubbornnessRefusal to yield
- tensionStretched or strained state
- bracingRefreshingly keen or stimulating
bracing yourself · hardening · resistance · immobilization · contraction · locking · locking up · fortification · hesitation · inflexibility · apprehension · cramping · muscle cramp · seizing up · freezing · obstinacy · digging in · resolve
stiffening uploosening up
Reducing tension or rigidity
relaxing · loosening · limbering up · softening · unwinding
stiffening uploosening up
Reducing tension or rigidity
relaxing · unwinding · chilling out · letting loose · warming up
stiffening upsoftening up
Reducing resistance gradually
loosening up · relaxing · easing · yielding · giving way
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