stringent
adjective
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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
Maddie Garfinkle, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
Beachside cities such as Dana Point have struggled with hitting the right note, with voters there rejecting a more stringent initiative to clamp down on STRs.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 22 Oct. 2025
First, the state provisions impose more stringent requirements than what the NVRA allows for federal elections, thereby creating two different processes that are not equivalent.
—Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 21 Oct. 2025
Hock is way too stringent and hard-nosed to work with pie-in-the-sky companies.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stringent
Cite this Entry
“Stringent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stringent. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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stringent
adjective
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