rigorous
Americanadjective
-
characterized by rigor; rigidly severe or harsh, as people, rules, or discipline.
rigorous laws.
- Synonyms:
- unyielding, stiff, inflexible, hard, austere, stern
-
severely exact or accurate; precise.
rigorous research.
- Antonyms:
- inaccurate
-
(of weather or climate) uncomfortably severe or harsh; extremely inclement.
- Antonyms:
- mild
-
Logic, Mathematics. logically valid.
adjective
-
characterized by or proceeding from rigour; harsh, strict, or severe
rigorous discipline
-
severely accurate; scrupulous
rigorous book-keeping
-
(esp of weather) extreme or harsh
-
maths logic (of a proof) making the validity of the successive steps completely explicit
Usage
What does rigorous mean? Rigorous is used to describe things characterized by rigor—strict discipline or severe exactness and precision.Describing an experiment or study as rigorous means it was conducted with extreme precision in order to achieve accuracy.Describing an athletic or academic program as rigorous means it is designed to be challenging and focused on strict discipline.If a teacher is known for being rigorous, it means that they are very strict about things like students completing all of their work and following the rules exactly.Example: The are the result of months of rigorous testing.
Related Words
See strict.
Other Word Forms
- overrigorous adjective
- overrigorousness noun
- rigorously adverb
- rigorousness noun
- self-rigorous adjective
- semirigorous adjective
- semirigorousness noun
- unrigorous adjective
- unrigorousness noun
Etymology
Origin of rigorous
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Medieval Latin rigōrōsus; rigor, -ous
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.
Mr. Smith is erudite and rigorous but also funny.
“Our board continues to lead a rigorous, highly competitive and thorough sales process,” Zaslav said, adding the company has held sale talks with four prospective buyers since Ellison launched the bidding for Warner in September.
From Los Angeles Times
“The training does not stop after graduation from the academy. Recruits are put on a rigorous on-the-job training program that is tracked and monitored.”
From Los Angeles Times
Visiting any head of state requires rigorous checks.
From BBC
“If you don’t have undergrads who value rigorous thought,” she said, “then what you end up with is a race to the bottom.”
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.
