as in hardships
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
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Recent Examples of rigors
Bachman quit the band after the Fillmore show in May 1970, fed up with the rigors of touring, business disputes, and lifestyle clashes.
—
Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2026
Titles built on sacrifice The titles at South Oak Cliff are three that came the hard way, through sacrifice beyond the rigors of practice.
—Marvin Hurst, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Specifically, the unique bond the three have formed represents an important and much-needed evolution in how athletes in the sport can and should approach the rigors of competitive skating.
—Alice Park, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
To help better prepare his body for the rigors of a full big league season, Mayer has made getting bigger and stronger a top priority this winter.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 11 Feb. 2026
Interestingly, the device maintained a stable electroencephalogram (EEG) signal collection despite the harsh rigors of space.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026
The captain of Team Canada is familiar with the Olympics and with the rigors of best-on-best international play.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
While the rigors of zero-g have been well researched on the International Space Station, the challenges of living in lower gravity, such as that found on the moon and Mars, has not yet been explored.
—Space.com Staff, Space.com, 7 Feb. 2026
Just like Eddie Bauer, those mountaineers in the ’90s wanted a jacket with excellent warmth-to-weight ratio that could also handle the rigors of climbing.
—Graham Averill, Outside, 4 Feb. 2026
Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2026
Titles built on sacrifice The titles at South Oak Cliff are three that came the hard way, through sacrifice beyond the rigors of practice.
—Marvin Hurst, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Specifically, the unique bond the three have formed represents an important and much-needed evolution in how athletes in the sport can and should approach the rigors of competitive skating.
—Alice Park, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
To help better prepare his body for the rigors of a full big league season, Mayer has made getting bigger and stronger a top priority this winter.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 11 Feb. 2026
Interestingly, the device maintained a stable electroencephalogram (EEG) signal collection despite the harsh rigors of space.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026
The captain of Team Canada is familiar with the Olympics and with the rigors of best-on-best international play.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
While the rigors of zero-g have been well researched on the International Space Station, the challenges of living in lower gravity, such as that found on the moon and Mars, has not yet been explored.
—Space.com Staff, Space.com, 7 Feb. 2026
Just like Eddie Bauer, those mountaineers in the ’90s wanted a jacket with excellent warmth-to-weight ratio that could also handle the rigors of climbing.
—Graham Averill, Outside, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rigors
Noun
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Yet despite Mattel’s widening representation, sometimes there’s no storytelling more powerful than the hardships and accomplishments of a real person.—
Kati Chitrakorn,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
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Cliffside Confessions Since establishing his BASE jump guiding company in 2022, LaJeunesse has leaned into the hardships some of his clients want to face.—
Maya Silver,
Outside,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Travelers are advised to check with their airline or travel agent as soon as possible for information on rebooking and refunds, though passengers are reporting difficulties getting assistance because of high caller volumes.—
Karla Cripps,
CNN Money,
2 Mar. 2026
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In an interview with Variety from the convention, Bravo boss Frances Berwick described the difficulties of finding the right cast.—
Kate Aurthur,
Variety,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rigors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rigors. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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