rigidify
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Usage
What does rigidify mean? Rigidify means to become rigid—stiff and inflexible. It can also mean to make something rigid.Rigid can be used in both literal and figurative ways. For example, a material like plastic might be described as rigid if it does not bend or bend easily. A person might be described as rigid if they are very strict and unwilling to bend the rules. Rules themselves can also be described as rigid if they are very strict or rigorous.Rigidify is most commonly used in a literal sense in a scientific context. A synonym for this sense of the word is rigidize. But rigidify can also be used in a figurative way in reference to people. A person or their personality could be said to rigidify—meaning that they become more inflexible, such as when dealing with new situations.When it’s used in the context of a person or their personality, rigidify is almost always used negatively, as in Try not to rigidify when faced with new experiences—you have to learn to go with the flow sometimes.Example: A synthetic chemical is used to rigidify the material during the manufacturing process so that the end product is very inflexible.
Etymology
Origin of rigidify
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The first followed the invention of the cotton gin, which gave birth to a “rigidified oligarchy that eventually challenged the power of the nation itself.”
From Seattle Times
Normal people seldom appear in these stories, and the German Democratic Republic has long since rigidified into a historical caricature.
From The Guardian
Now the two-party system has rigidified and ossified.
From Seattle Times
"This thing has rigidified out here," Wilmore radioed to flight controllers in Houston.
From Reuters
“It’s going to rigidify the already powerful racist tendencies in Israeli society,” she worried.
From New York Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
