rigorous

o·ver·rig·or·ous·ness, nounself-rig·or·ous, adjectivesem·i·rig·or·ous, adjectivesem·i·rig·or·ous·ly, adverbsem·i·rig·or·ous·ness, nounun·rig·or·ous, adjectiveun·rig·or·ous·ly, adverbun·rig·or·ous·ness, noun

Words nearby rigorous

rigolet, Rigoletto, rigor, rigorism, rigor mortis, rigorous, rigour, rig out, Rigsdag, rigsdaler, rig up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

MORE ABOUT RIGOROUS

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.

Where does rigorous come from?

The first records of the word rigorous come from the 1300s. It ultimately comes from the Latin rigēre, meaning “to be stiff.” The suffix -ous is used to form adjectives.

People and things described as rigorous are known for being inflexible when it comes to what is considered the exact right plan or course of action. For this reason, the word is associated with discipline, precision, accuracy, and high standards.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to rigorous?

rigorously (adverb)
rigorousness (noun)
rigor (noun)

What are some synonyms for rigorous?

What are some words that share a root or word element with rigorous?

rigor mortis

What are some words that often get used in discussing rigorous?

How is rigorous used in real life?

Rigorous is often used to describe things like experiments, testing, athletic training, and academic programs.

"Smith… proposes ways for teachers to… empathize with diverse viewpoints, commit to truth over self-interest, use rigorous standards of evidence to draw conclusions, and avoid relying solely on feelings to make decisions." @Rhetors_of_York https://t.co/y50UDLSGhY

— Joshua Hatala (@pjoshh) February 17, 2021

Every toolbox should have a workhorse like the MegaPro 13-in-1 screwdriver.

It's proudly reigned as our pick for the best screwdriver since 2013, holding its own in rounds of rigorous testing against handfuls of worthy adversaries https://t.co/cIzBuBCRzK pic.twitter.com/D88woq9EsQ

— Wirecutter (@wirecutter) February 14, 2021

527 of the 606 soldiers completed the rigorous training here in Essexhttps://t.co/ncqRgyv2XT

— Essex Live (@essexlive) February 16, 2021

Try using rigorous!

Which of the following words is a synonym of rigorous?

A. rigid
B. exacting
C. precise
D. all of the above

How to use rigorous in a sentence

Thanks to our rigorous hourly backup process, our moderators were able to erase the damage and restore the campus quickly.
The Minecraft Institvte of Technology|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Surrogate sires would be classified as gene-edited animals by the Food and Drug Administration, meaning they’d face a rigorous approval process before their offspring could be sold for human consumption.
Biotechnology Could Change the Cattle Industry. Will It Succeed?|Dyllan Furness|August 16, 2020|Singularity Hub
Instead of its typical rigorous review, the US Food and Drug Administration would give tests and treatments a different kind of temporary clearance to get them on the ground as soon as possible.
Why Covid-19 test results are taking so long|Katherine Ellen Foley|July 31, 2020|Quartz
The real camera, called Mastcam-Z, has been through weeks of rigorous testing and calibration, and is probably up to the task.
To rehearse Perseverance’s mission, scientists pretended to be a Mars rover|Lisa Grossman|July 29, 2020|Science News

Different businesses will require different levels of website performance, and rigorous multivariate testing helps marketers to see what online features offer varied results for users.
How A/B and multivariate testing can skyrocket your social media conversions|Peter Jobes|July 3, 2020|Search Engine Watch
But Olds did more than build Nurse-Family Partnership; he did the rigorous evaluation to prove it would work.
Can the U.S. Government Go Moneyball?|Peter Orszag, Jim Nussle|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All of this requires rigorous self-examination: When you can be anything you want to be, what do you want to be?
Men Need A Better Men’s Rights Movement|Nancy Kaffer|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She had all the pressure of people in the spotlight and was unbelievably rigorous about keeping it real.
Can Condon's Freak Show Win Broadway?|Tim Teeman|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Turning the tide of the epidemic, he says, will require “rigorous contact, tracing, and quarantining.”
Blood Is Ebola’s Weapon and Weakness|Abby Haglage|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They are tight exercises in genre filmmaking, both formally rigorous and emotionally involving.
David Fincher’s Backseat Feminism|Teo Bugbee|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is evident that the literal and rigorous practice of the Divine morality of the Christians would lead nations to ruin.
Superstition In All Ages (1732)|Jean Meslier
It is probable that parental and filial affection (piets) made this hardship less rigorous than it now seems to us (32, 33).
The Private Life of the Romans|Harold Whetstone Johnston
It has also been suggested that custom and piets had made this condition less rigorous than it seems to us.
The Private Life of the Romans|Harold Whetstone Johnston
Winston is rigorous in requiring what is due to his position—is, in some respects, a fearful formalist.
At Last|Marion Harland
See p. 15 for a more rigorous statement concerning the volume.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2.|Julius Stieglitz

British Dictionary definitions for rigorous

rigorous

/ (ˈrɪɡərəs) /

adjective

characterized by or proceeding from rigour; harsh, strict, or severerigorous discipline

severely accurate; scrupulousrigorous book-keeping

(esp of weather) extreme or harsh

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

Derived forms of rigorous

rigorously, adverbrigorousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

rigorous

OTHER WORDS FOR rigorous

OPPOSITES FOR rigorous

Origin of rigorous

synonym study for rigorous

OTHER WORDS FROM rigorous

Words nearby rigorous

MORE ABOUT RIGOROUS

What does rigorous mean?

Where does rigorous come from?

Did you know ... ?

How is rigorous used in real life?

Try using rigorous!

Words related to rigorous

How to use rigorous in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rigorous

Derived forms of rigorous