strict

[ strikt ]

/ strɪkt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR strict ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, strict·er, strict·est.

characterized by or acting in close conformity to requirements or principles: a strict observance of rituals.

stringent or exacting in or in enforcing rules, requirements, obligations, etc.: strict laws; a strict judge.

closely or rigorously enforced or maintained: strict silence.

exact or precise: a strict statement of facts.

extremely defined or conservative; narrowly or carefully limited: a strict construction of the Constitution.

close, careful, or minute: a strict search.

absolute, perfect, or complete; utmost: told in strict confidence.

stern; severe; austere: strict parents.

Obsolete. drawn tight or close.

Words nearby strict

striatum, strick, stricken, strickland, strickle, strict, striction, strictly, strictly decreasing function, strictly increasing function, stricture

Origin of strict

1570–80; < Latin strictus, equivalent to strig-, variant stem of stringere to draw tight + -tus past participle suffix

SYNONYMS FOR strict

1 narrow, illiberal, harsh, austere. Strict, rigid, rigorous, stringent imply inflexibility, severity, and an exacting quality. Strict implies great exactness, especially in the observance or enforcement of rules: strict discipline. Rigid, literally stiff or unbending, applies to that which is (often unnecessarily or narrowly) inflexible: rigid economy. Rigorous, with the same literal meaning, applies to that which is severe, exacting, and uncompromising, especially in action or application: rigorous self-denial. Stringent applies to that which is vigorously exacting and severe: stringent measures to suppress disorder.

4 accurate, scrupulous.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR strict ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR strict

1 flexible, lax.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR strict ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM strict

strict·ness, nouno·ver·strict, adjectivesu·per·strict, adjectivesu·per·strict·ly, adverb

su·per·strict·ness, nounun·strict, adjectiveun·strict·ly, adverbun·strict·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stricter

But, in a disconnect, only half support "stricter gun control laws."
Mom Gun-Control Group Fights the NRA With Its Own Weapon|Brandy Zadrozny|July 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the 1990s, support for stricter gun laws hovered between 60 and 78 percent.
Pediatricians Take on the NRA Over Gun Safety|Brandy Zadrozny|May 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Calls came for stricter gun laws, including prohibiting neighborhood-watch volunteers from carrying firearms.
The Only Non-White Juror in the George Zimmerman Trial|Lisa Bloom|February 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In general, content-based speech restrictions are subject to stricter scrutiny than content-neutral rules.
SCOTUS-Palooza: Preview of the Big Cases in the New Term|Ilya Shapiro|October 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Sure, if stricter voter ID laws are passed in certain swing states that were, until today, covered under the act.
Supreme Court and Voting Rights|Michael Tomasky|June 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In 'Monsieur de Camors', crowned by the Academy, he has yielded to the demands of a stricter realism.
Monsieur de Camors, Complete|Octave Feuillet
Within those races separate nations are again marked out by a stricter application of the test of language.
Prose Masterpieces from Modern Essayists|James Anthony Froude, Edward A. Freeman, William Ewart Gladstone, John Henry Newman and Leslie Stephen
No stricter rules can be devised than those that prevail at the two institutions.
Dewey and Other Naval Commanders|Edward S. Ellis
The stricter Benedictine rule, though as we have seen how departed from, enjoined a seclusion from the world.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 69, No. 425, March, 1851|Various
They asked, how could I, who had not kept the rule in that house, think of keeping it in another of stricter observance?
The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus|Teresa of Avila

British Dictionary definitions for stricter

strict

/ (strɪkt) /

adjective

adhering closely to specified rules, ordinances, etca strict faith

complied with or enforced stringently; rigorousa strict code of conduct

severely correct in attention to rules of conduct or moralitya strict teacher

(of a punishment, etc) harsh; severe

(prenominal) complete; absolutein strict secrecy

logic maths (of a relation)

applying more narrowly than some other relation often given the same name, as strict inclusion, which holds only between pairs of sets that are distinct, while simple inclusion permits the case in which they are identicalSee also proper (def. 9), ordering
distinguished from a relation of the same name that is not the subject of formal study

botany rare very straight, narrow, and uprightstrict panicles

Derived forms of strict

strictly, adverbstrictness, noun

Word Origin for strict

C16: from Latin strictus, from stringere to draw tight

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