rigor

noun

rig·​or ˈri-gər 

1

a(1)

: harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper, or judgment : severity

The least one might observe is that this muddle of … extreme rigor and casual permissiveness … has consequences.

—Peter Berkowitz

(2)

: the quality of being unyielding or inflexible : strictness

The rule … has been enforced with a rigor worthy of a better cause.

—John D. Calamari and Joseph M. Perillo

(3)

: severity of life : austerity

… a moral rigor and growth that might help this country.

—Stanley Kauffmann

b

: an act or instance of strictness, severity, or cruelty

… the humanist must recognize the normality, the practical necessity of the very rigors he is trying to soften and correct.

—Hermann J. Muller

2

: a tremor caused by a chill

This young woman presented at the hospital with severe abdominal pain and signs of infection, including fever, rigor, and leukocytosis.

—Robert E. Scully et al.

3

: a condition that makes life difficult, challenging, or uncomfortable

especially : extremity of cold

the rigors of a New England winter

4

: strict precision : exactness

logical rigor

Tentatively one might suggest that what characterizes science is the rigor of its methodology …

—Ernst Mayr

5

a

obsolete : rigidity, stiffness

b

: rigidness or torpor of organs or tissue that prevents response to stimuli

c

: rigor mortis

A fish has its best flavor and texture when cooked while just coming out of rigor.

—Jane Daniels Lear

Synonyms of rigor

• hardship
• difficulty

Examples of rigor in a Sentence

They underwent the rigors of military training.

the rigors of life in the wilderness

They conducted the experiments with scientific rigor.

a scholar known for her intellectual rigor

Recent Examples on the Web

Sumrall has repeatedly challenged the unit publicly to get ready for the rigors of the SEC. — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026

Katz is known for a curatorial ethos that places scholarly rigor and popular appeal on equal footing. — News Desk, Artforum, 13 Aug. 2026

For the first time, a medical device has been engineered to restore—with precision, measurement, and regulatory rigor—a biological conversation between skin and light that civilization has spent the last century trying to silence. — Tanya Akim, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

There, his deft use of crane shots and tracking shots was worked out with conspicuous formalist rigor—exactly nine shots of about the same ten-minute length—to form a portrait of a young writer in Baltimore. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English rigour, from Anglo-French, from Latin rigor, literally, stiffness, from rigēre to be stiff

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Phrases Containing rigor

• rigor mortis

Rhymes for rigor

• bigger
• digger
• jigger
• rigger
• trigger
• vigor
• gravedigger
• obligor
• outrigger

Kids Definition

rigor

noun

rig·​or ˈrig-ər 

1

a

: the quality of not being flexible or yielding

b

: an act or instance of being strict or harsh

2

: a shuddering caused by a chill

3

: a condition that makes life difficult or uncomfortable

especially : extreme cold

4

: strict precision : exactness

logical rigor

Medical Definition

rigor

noun

rig·​or

ˈrig-ər, British also ˈrī-ˌgȯr

1

a

: chill sense 1

b

: a tremor caused by a chill

2

a

: rigidity or torpor of organs or tissue that prevents response to stimuli

b

: rigor mortis