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"stiff" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often rigid (5 letters).
Definitions
Rigid, firm, or difficult to bend.
Word origin
From Middle English stiff, stiffe, stif, from Old English stīf, from Proto-West Germanic *stīf, from Proto-Germanic *stīfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steypós.
Used in a sentence
“You have discovered the corpse of Captain Willem of the MSV Majesty. His stiff fingers are wrapped tightly around a small datapad.”
“He was eventually caught, and given a stiff fine.”
““Yes. I believe she has passed quite a stiff exam.””
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer2 curated clues
01“Hard to bend”5 letters
02“Rigid”5 letters
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