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