rigorous
Americanadjective
-
characterized by rigor; rigidly severe or harsh, as people, rules, or discipline.
rigorous laws.
- Synonyms:
- unyielding, stiff, inflexible, hard, austere, stern
-
severely exact or accurate; precise.
rigorous research.
- Antonyms:
- inaccurate
-
(of weather or climate) uncomfortably severe or harsh; extremely inclement.
- Antonyms:
- mild
-
Logic, Mathematics. logically valid.
adjective
-
characterized by or proceeding from rigour; harsh, strict, or severe
rigorous discipline
-
severely accurate; scrupulous
rigorous book-keeping
-
(esp of weather) extreme or harsh
-
maths logic (of a proof) making the validity of the successive steps completely explicit
Usage
What does rigorous mean? Rigorous is used to describe things characterized by rigor—strict discipline or severe exactness and precision.Describing an experiment or study as rigorous means it was conducted with extreme precision in order to achieve accuracy.Describing an athletic or academic program as rigorous means it is designed to be challenging and focused on strict discipline.If a teacher is known for being rigorous, it means that they are very strict about things like students completing all of their work and following the rules exactly.Example: The are the result of months of rigorous testing.
Related Words
See strict.
Other Word Forms
- overrigorous adjective
- overrigorousness noun
- rigorously adverb
- rigorousness noun
- self-rigorous adjective
- semirigorous adjective
- semirigorousness noun
- unrigorous adjective
- unrigorousness noun
Etymology
Origin of rigorous
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Medieval Latin rigōrōsus; rigor, -ous
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.
Managers with experienced investment teams, rigorous underwriting standards and strong risk controls are structurally better positioned to navigate periods of stress.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026
“This rigorous approach just hasn’t been taken with VSELs. I find the work mystifying and lacking in rigor,” he said.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
Phone-free school policies, which Haidt is also strongly advocating for, digital literacy programs, comprehensive and rigorous national privacy laws and active parental involvement all hold promise.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
“This constellation of foreign investment from China and from Gulf States, with complex and sometimes competing relationships with the United States, demands rigorous, not perfunctory review,” Booker and the others wrote.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
Seurat thinks of his work as more rigorous and meticulous than Impressionism.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
