Synonyms of rigor

rigor

noun

ˈri-gər 

1

as in hardship

something that is a cause for suffering or special effort especially in the attainment of a goal

hard-bitten folk who survived many rigors on the way to the promised land

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hardship
• difficulty
• hardness
• obstacle
• adversity
• hurdle
• asperity
• trial
• discomfort
• inconvenience
• obstruction
• tragedy
• tribulation
• interference
• impediment
• nuisance
• inhibition
• misfortune
• hindrance
• embarrassment
• let
• encumbrance
• deterrent
• mishap
• affliction
• chain
• rub
• handicap
• shackle
• hitch
• catch
• knock
• snag
• stop
• crimp
• clog
• trammel
• manacle
• block
• pons asinorum
• hump
• check
• bar
• fetter

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• opportunity
• advantage
• break

2

as in severity

the quality or state of being demanding or unyielding (as in discipline or criticism)

after being coddled by his former coach, the swimmer was shocked by the rigor of the new training program

Synonyms & Similar Words

• severity
• rigidity
• strictness
• stringency
• inflexibility
• sternness
• rigidness
• hardness
• harshness
• rigorousness
• exactingness
• implacability
• callousness
• obduracy
• resolve
• gruffness
• steadfastness
• pitilessness
• determination
• monasticism
• firmness
• asceticism
• dourness
• obstinacy
• stubbornness
• hard-heartedness
• obdurateness
• austerity
• austereness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flexibility
• gentleness
• tolerance
• patience
• tenderness
• softness
• indulgence
• kindness
• laxness
• forbearance
• responsiveness
• willingness
• mildness
• compliance
• lenience
• pliability
• pliancy

3

as in accuracy

the quality or state of being very accurate

said that she had heard that excuse a million times, but then she was never known for the rigor of her calculations

Synonyms & Similar Words

• accuracy
• precision
• preciseness
• perfection
• exactness
• exactitude
• fidelity
• definiteness
• veracity
• rigorousness
• truth
• nicety
• fineness
• definitiveness
• accurateness
• strictness
• delicacy
• closeness
• correctness
• ultraprecision
• rightness
• subtlety
• determinacy
• meticulousness
• fastidiousness
• carefulness
• definitude
• care
• persnicketiness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• roughness
• imprecision
• inaccuracy
• approximation
• coarseness
• roundness
• inexactness
• inexactitude
• wrongness
• falsity
• impreciseness
• carelessness
• incorrectness
• looseness
• falseness
• vagueness
• guesswork
• indefiniteness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of rigor

The multi-dimensional California musician’s best trick is blurring the line between play and professionalism, rawness and rigor. — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 29 July 2026

Media placements are engineered with the same rigor, drafted with attention to headlines, entities, and publication authority in relation to the queries where the client is most visible. — K. H. Koehler, USA Today, 29 July 2026

Somewhere between looseness and rigor lies the best way to render a cabaret act as theatrical comedy. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 28 July 2026

These include the rigor and feasibility of the work – that is, whether the study design can appropriately answer the research question. — Aliasger K. Salem, The Conversation, 23 July 2026