rigid

1 not allowing for any exceptions or loosening of standards <rigid enforcement of drug laws> Synonyms brassbound, cast-iron, exacting, hard-line, inflexible, rigorous, strict, stringent, uncompromising Related Words close, conscientious, exact, fussy, meticulous, painstaking, punctilious, scrupulous, undeviating; adamant, adamantine, determined, dogged, firm, relentless, resolved, single-minded, steadfast, stubborn, tenacious, unbending, unflinching; immovable, implacable, unappeasable, unrelenting, unsparing, unyielding; austere, demanding, flinty, grim, hard, hardened, hard-hearted, harsh, ironbound, severe, stern, tough Near Antonyms acquiescent, compliant, compromising, pliable, pliant, relenting, yielding; easy, easygoing, gentle, indulgent, kindly, lenient, merciful, mild, pampering, soft, spoiling, tolerant; neglectful, negligent, remiss, slipshod, sloppy, slovenly, unfussy Antonyms flexible, lax, loose, relaxed, slack

2 given to exacting standards of discipline and self-restraint <a rigid man who cannot seem to relax> Synonyms austere, authoritarian, flinty, hard, harsh, heavy-handed, ramrod, severe, rigorous, stern, strict, toughRelated Words demanding, exacting; uncharitable, unforgiving; adamant, adamantine, callous, hardened, hard-hearted, hard-line, immovable, implacable, inflexible, merciless, ossified, pitiless, relentless, rock-ribbed, stiff, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unsparing, unyielding; dour, gruff; ascetic (also ascetical), monastic, monkish; browbeating, bullying; determined, firm, resolved, single-minded, steadfast, unflinching; dogged, intractable, obstinate, relentlessNear Antonyms easy, easygoing, laid-back, undemanding; charitable, kind, merciful, mild, patient, soft, softhearted; accepting, compromising, yielding; responsive, willing; acquiescent, agreeable, amenable, complaisant, compliant, flexible, pliable, pliantAntonyms clement, forbearing, gentle, indulgent, lax, lenient, tolerant

3 having a consistency that does not easily yield to pressure <rigid steel bars that should be able to hold the weight> Synonyms compact, hard, firm, solid, stiff, unyieldingRelated Words case-hardened, compacted, compressed, hardened, indurated, stiffened, tempered; close, dense, heavy, thick, thickset; inelastic, inflexible, ramrod, unbending; compressed, condensed; adamantine, rocklike; sturdy, substantial; impenetrable, impermeable, nonporousNear Antonyms loose, scattered, thin; bendable, elastic, flexible, malleable, pliable, pliant, supple; droopy, flaccid, floppy, lank, limp, slack; airy, light; permeable, porous; ultrasoftAntonyms flabby, soft, spongy, squashy, squishy

4 incapable of or highly resistant to bending <corsets, those rigid undergarments for women, must have been murder to wear> Synonyms inflexible, stiff, stiffened, unyieldingRelated Words inelastic; firm, hard, solid, sound, strong; brittle, crisp; compact, dense, substantial; arthritic, rheumatic; nonelastic, nonmalleableNear Antonyms elastic, resilient, springy, stretchy, workable; malleable, plastic; semiflexible; droopy, flabby, flaccid, mushy, semisoft, soft, squashy, squishy; lank, limber, limp, lissome (also lissom), lithe, lithesome, willowyAntonyms flexible, floppy, pliable, pliant, supple, yielding

5 stretched with little or no give <make sure that the clothesline is rigid so that the longer garments don't drag on the ground> Synonyms taut, tense, tightRelated Words firm, inflexible, stiff, tightened, unrelaxed, unyieldingNear Antonyms drooping, droopy, flaccid, floppy, hanging, lank, limp, loosened, relaxed, sagging, slackened, yielding; elastic, flexible, pliant, resilient, springy, stretchy, suppleAntonyms lax, loose, slack