congeal, freeze, stiff, be absorbed in
凝 centers on a substance or state becoming thick, solid, or fixed: liquids congealing or freezing, muscles stiffening, or the mind being so absorbed in something that it becomes rigidly focused.
凝 combines the ice radical 冫 with 疑, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of something becoming fixed or congealed. The exact historical development of the right side is uncertain.
The ice radical 冫 on the left suggests coldness, while the right side 疑 looks like a person frozen in doubt. Imagine a liquid turning to ice and becoming stiff, or a person so absorbed they are frozen in place.
For ギョウ, picture a giant block of ice congealing around a person named Gyo: Gyo -> ギョウ, and the ice freezes him solid.
muscle stiffness (esp. in shoulders)
to become stiff (of muscles)
condensation (of ideas, emotions, etc.); concentration
coagulation; freezing; solidification
stare; gaze; fixation
to concentrate; to focus on; to devote; to apply oneself
to stiffen; to harden
agglomeration; clumping together
solidification; congelation; freezing; curdling; setting
tendency to become totally absorbed in something; monomania; perfectionism; fastidiousness; meticulousness
to congeal; to gelatinize; to jellify; to jell; to gell; to freeze
tuff
Bose-Einstein condensate
melanin-concentrating hormone
elaborate; exquisite; ornate; refined; sophisticated
too much thinking gets you nowhere; excessive enthusiasm clouds one's judgment
to freeze; to congeal
to freeze; to congeal
congelation; congealment; jelly
to be into something (e.g. a hobby)