rigid
Americanadjective
-
stiff or unyielding; not pliant or flexible; hard.
a rigid strip of metal.
- Synonyms:
- inflexible, firm, unbending
- Antonyms:
- elastic
-
firmly fixed or set.
-
inflexible, strict, or severe.
a rigid disciplinarian; rigid rules of social behavior.
- Synonyms:
- unyielding, stern, austere
- Antonyms:
- lax
-
exacting; thorough; rigorous.
a rigid examination.
- Synonyms:
- demanding
-
so as to meet precise standards; stringent.
lenses ground to rigid specifications.
- Synonyms:
- demanding
-
Mechanics. of, relating to, or noting a body in which the distance between any pair of points remains fixed under all forces; having infinite values for its shear modulus, bulk modulus, and Young's modulus.
-
Aeronautics.
-
(of an airship or dirigible) having a form maintained by a stiff, unyielding structure contained within the envelope.
-
pertaining to a helicopter rotor that is held fixedly at its root.
-
adjective
-
not bending; physically inflexible or stiff
a rigid piece of plastic
-
unbending; rigorously strict; severe
rigid rules
adverb
Usage
What does rigid mean? Rigid means stiff and inflexible. It can be used in both literal and figurative ways.For example, a material like plastic might be described as rigid if it does not bend or bend easily. A person might be described as rigid if they are very strict and unwilling to bend the rules. Rules themselves can also be described as rigid if they are very strict or rigorous, as in The boarding school had a rigid set of rules designed to keep students in line. When used to describe a person or their personality as inflexible, rigid is almost always used negatively, as in Try not to be so rigid—you have to learn to go with the flow sometimes.The related noun rigidity refers to the state or quality of being rigid in both literal and figurative senses.Example: When using heavy acrylic paints, It’s best to paint on a rigid canvas so the paint won’t bleed and the canvas will hold its shape over time.
Related Words
See strict.
Other Word Forms
- overrigid adjective
- overrigidity noun
- overrigidly adverb
- overrigidness noun
- rigidity noun
- rigidly adverb
- rigidness noun
- subrigid adjective
- subrigidity noun
- subrigidly adverb
- subrigidness noun
- unrigid adjective
- unrigidly adverb
- unrigidness noun
Etymology
Origin of rigid
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin rigidus, equivalent to rig(ēre) “to be stiff, stiffen” + -idus -id 4
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One long standing focus has been the pathway bacteria use to construct peptidoglycan, the rigid material that forms their cell wall.
From Science Daily
Older trusts, such as A/B trusts, often contain rigid language that restricts control for surviving spouses, a limitation no longer justified by tax benefits.
From Barron's
It will also favor workers overall, they argue—the country’s rigid labor laws have forced some 40% of Argentina’s workers to operate in the informal economy, without contracts or social security.
Some of Mr. Ireland’s best pages are about the ways the freewheeling Rivera broke Trotsky from his rigid writing schedule, getting him out of his study and onto the back of a horse.
That rigid schedule made sense in the era when work happened face-to-face and side-by-side at an office.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
