Definition of STRINGENT

Choose the Right Synonym for stringent

rigid, rigorous, strict, stringent mean extremely severe or stern. rigid implies uncompromising inflexibility. rigid rules of conduct rigorous implies the imposition of hardship and difficulty. the rigorous training of recruits strict emphasizes undeviating conformity to rules, standards, or requirements. strict enforcement of the law stringent suggests severe, tight restriction or limitation. stringent standards of admission

How Should You Use stringent?

Words that are synonymous with stringent include rigid, which implies uncompromising inflexibility ("rigid rules of conduct"), and rigorous, which suggests hardship and difficulty ("the rigorous training of firefighters"). Also closely related is strict, which emphasizes undeviating conformity to rules, standards, or requirements ("strict enforcement of the law"). Stringent usually involves severe, tight restrictions or limitations ("the college has stringent admissions rules"). That's logical. After all, rigorous and rigid are both derived from rigēre, the Latin word meaning "to be stiff," and stringent and strict developed from the Latin verb stringere, meaning "to bind tight."

Examples of stringent in a Sentence

stringent rules against unauthorized persons being in the building “You’d need top grades for that,” said professor McGonagall, extracting a small, dark leaflet from under the mass on her desk and opening it. “They ask for a minimum of five N.E.W.T.s, and nothing under ‘Exceeds Expectations’ grade, I see. Then you would be required to undergo a stringent series of character and aptitude tests at the Auror office. It’s a difficult career path, Potter; they only take the best. In fact, I don’t think anybody has been taken on in the last three years.” —“Career Advice” P. 662, HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, J. K. Rowling, Scholastic Press, Scholastic Inc., ©2003 Waugh was by then an established novelist, known for such stringent satires as Vile Bodies, Black Mischief, and his other work of the 1930s, and for Brideshead Revisited—all of which are far better known in the United States than Sword of Honour, his masterpiece. —"Books & Critics" P. 128, Penelope Lively, THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY Vol. 287 No. 2, February 2001 Throughout Canada and the United States, a beneficiary who is convicted in a criminal court proceeding of intentionally murdering the insured is disqualified from receiving life insurance policy proceeds. In many states and throughout Canada, a beneficiary who is convicted of a lesser offense––such as manslaughter––is also disqualified from receiving policy proceeds. Laws in Quebec are even more stringent; a beneficiary who attempts to kills the insured––even if that attempt is unsuccessful––is prohibited from receiving life insurance policy proceeds. —"Chapter Fourteen" P. 276, PRINCIPLES OF INSURANCE: LIFE, HEALTH, AND ANNUITIES, Harriett E. Jones, JD, FLMI, ACS et al., LOMA 1996 Ellison argued in his essay “What America Would Be Like Without Blacks” that blacks, constitutive of Americanness rather than candidates for it, are the moral center of America’s complex hybrid culture. They push democratic culture toward fruition, with the most obvious test being “the inclusion—not assimilation—of the black man.” America “could not survive being deprived of their presence because, by the irony implicit in the dynamics of American democracy, they symbolize both its most stringent testing and the possibility of its greatest human freedom,” he wrote. Toni Morrison’s best-selling book of essays, Playing in the Dark, can be read as an extended meditation on Ellison’s belief in the centrality of African-Americans for American literature. “The presence of black people is inherent, along with gender and family ties, in the earliest lesson every child is taught regarding his or her distinctiveness,” she writes. “Africanism is inextricable from the definition of Americanness.” Ellison wrote, “Whatever else the true American is, he is also somehow black.” —“The New Intellectuals” P. 67, Robert S. Boynton, THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY Vol. 275 No. 3, March 1995

Recent Examples on the Web

Conyac sells organic broad-breasted turkeys, which are subject to more stringent standards than nonorganic commercial operations. — Hannah Rodriguez, The Seattle Times, "Turkey prices are lowest in a decade, but not for the kinds Washington farmers raise. Those are soaring.," 22 Nov. 2018 In a harsh Nevada desert landscape, French director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre has made a stringent tale of a struggle for redemption involving an angry prison inmate (played by Matthias Schoenaerts) and an equally angry wild horse. — Seattle Times Staff, The Seattle Times, "‘Dumbo’ and 8 other movies open March 29; our reviewers weigh in," 3 Apr. 2019 Though Mulroney is free to overshare about herself on Instagram, Meghan is now subject to staid and stringent protocol. — Michelle Ruiz, Marie Claire, "I Respect Jessica Mulroney's Hustle—and Her Loyalty to Meghan Markle," 18 Dec. 2018 Behind the reduction are more stringent security protocols for citizens of 11 countries designated by the administration as presenting the greatest potential threat. — Fox News, "Trump refugee policy leaves thousands stranded outside US," 7 Oct. 2018 City policy dictates that students with 30 or more absences in a class should fail, and the legislation would have delayed stringent enforcement of the attendance policy until the 2018-2019 academic year. — Fenit Nirappil, Washington Post, "In first-ever veto, Bowser denies diplomas to chronically absent students," 12 July 2018 Fox has endured a stringent 18-month review of its pursuit of the broadcaster by the British government, which has worried about the potential of Mr. Murdoch acquiring an outsize role in the country’s news industry. — New York Times, "Comcast and Fox Engage in Bidding War for Control of Sky," 11 July 2018 In his 2016 ruling, Kennedy indicated that the affirmative action program at the University of Texas at Austin met a stringent legal test. — NBC News, "Trump admin reverses Obama, prods schools to ignore racial factors in admissions," 3 July 2018 California, which has a waiver under a federal law to set its own rules, has historically pushed for more stringent emissions regulations. — Alex Leary, WSJ, "Trump Administration Cuts Off Talks With California Over Fuel-Efficiency Standards," 21 Feb. 2019

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