rigor

noun rig·or \ ˈri-gər \

Updated on: 16 May 2018

1 a (1) : harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper, or judgment : severity

(2) : the quality of being unyielding or inflexible : strictness

(3) : severity of life : austerity

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

2 : a tremor caused by a chill

3 : a condition that makes life difficult, challenging, or uncomfortable; especially : extremity of cold

4 : strict precision : exactness

logical rigor

5 a obsolete : rigidity, stiffness

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

c : rigor mortis

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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 of rigor from the Web

Some break down, but those who’ve made it to the Derby in fine form have held up to the rigors of the subsequent races.

— childs walker, baltimoresun.com, "Five storylines for Preakness 2018," 11 May 2018
Similar to Space Camp in Alabama, students are exposed to the rigors of astronaut training, as well as science, technology, engineering, and math fields that could land them a job at NASA one day.

— alex stuckey, The Christian Science Monitor, "Space Center University trains a growing crowd of aspiring astronauts," 7 May 2018
Is our scientific rigor distorted by wishful thinking?

— jeffrey kluger, Time, "Why Earthlings Are So Obsessed With Mars," 1 May 2018
Now, journalists are applying the rigor that the White House did not.

— callum borchers, Washington Post, "The Ronny Jackson trap for the media," 25 Apr. 2018
So a lot of it (now) is just getting him used to the rigors of a professional season, getting all the innings in, all the reps, getting himself into that consistent spot to let his release point sink up.

— mark gonzales, chicagotribune.com, "Cubs top pick Brendon Little no longer thrown for a curve after going on wild amateur journey," 19 Apr. 2018
Some social scientists say the analysis is fundamentally flawed and reflects poorly on an organization that champions scientific rigor.

— jeffrey mervis, Science | AAAS, "Got data? Survey of 2017 March for Science doesn’t make the grade," 9 Apr. 2018
Educators in districts across the country have argued that such programs lack rigor.

— mará rose williams, kansascity, "This online education program, developed in KC, gets credit for preventing dropouts | The Kansas City Star," 27 Mar. 2018
That sense of rigor is clear in Japanese bar culture as a whole: there’s a love for the exacting and ceremonial.

— carey jones, Vogue, "How Japanese Whisky Became the World’s Best," 25 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rigor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of rigor

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

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rigor Synonyms

RIGOR Defined for English Language Learners

rigor

noun

rigors : the difficult and unpleasant conditions or experiences that are associated with something
: the quality or state of being very exact, careful, or strict