rigorous

[rig-er-uhs]

adjective

1. characterized by rigor; rigidly severe or harsh, as people, rules, or discipline.

   rigorous laws.

   Synonyms: unyielding, stiff, inflexible, hard, austere, stern
   Antonyms: soft, flexible

2. severely exact or accurate; precise.

   rigorous research.

   Synonyms: finical, demanding
   Antonyms: inaccurate

3. (of weather or climate) uncomfortably severe or harsh; extremely inclement.

   Synonyms: bitter, hard
   Antonyms: mild

4. Logic, Mathematics.,  logically valid.

rigorous

/ ˈrɪɡərəs /

adjective

1. characterized by or proceeding from rigour; harsh, strict, or severe

   rigorous discipline

2. severely accurate; scrupulous

   rigorous book-keeping

3. (esp of weather) extreme or harsh

4. maths logic (of a proof) making the validity of the successive steps completely explicit

Other Word Forms

• rigorously adverb
• rigorousness noun
• overrigorous adjective
• overrigorousness noun
• self-rigorous adjective
• semirigorous adjective
• semirigorousness noun
• unrigorous adjective
• unrigorousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rigorous¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Medieval Latin rigōrōsus; rigor, -ous

Synonym Study

See strict.

Example Sentences

That’s by design: From the moment the Xcel left the shipyard until it welcomed its first shakedown guests, every venue was put through rigorous stress tests.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While a paper’s methodology could be more or less rigorous, and data could be tortured into fitting preconceived conclusions, the falsification of an entire study was extraordinary.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The council, which says it has a rigorous safety monitoring regime in place, is now contesting dozens of civil claims about the incident.

Read more on BBC

The "enormous amount of data that Meta possesses" and processes means there must be "rigorous checks", and "competition law plays a fundamental role", the court explained in its ruling.

Read more on Barron's

Glenn’s training was very rigorous, including his physical fitness.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• accurate 
• brutal 
• burdensome 
• correct 
• exacting 
• harsh 
• meticulous 
• onerous 
• precise 
• proper 
• rigid 
• scrupulous 
• strict 
• stringent 
• uncompromising 

When To Use

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.