rigour

American

[rig-er] / ˈrɪg ər /

noun

Chiefly British.

a variant of rigor.

rigour British

/ ˈrɪɡə /

noun

harsh but just treatment or action
a severe or cruel circumstance; hardship

the rigours of famine
strictness, harshness, or severity of character
strictness in judgment or conduct; rigorism
maths logic logical validity or accuracy
obsolete rigidity

"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

Etymology

Origin of rigour

C14: from Latin rigor

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.

See Examples For:

rigour

He wanted to be more than a clinician; he wanted to bring academic rigour to his practice.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

"Scepticism and rigour are hallmarks of the scientific process, which we appreciate and have supported from various academics. We have participated in dialogue and our thorough rebuttal was accepted and published by Nature."

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

"The rule of law will act with all due rigour."

From Barron's ● May 4, 2026

Criticism of England, and McCullum in particular, centred on an approach that appeared too casual to stand up to the intensity, rigour and pressure of Test cricket.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026

Their new science was organized around the virtues of a juge d’instruction: intellectual rigour, a set of formalized procedures, a quest for a complete proof, a confidence that one need only answer to other professionals.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023