ˈrijə̇d adjective
Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French rigide, from Latin rigidus, from rigēre to be stiff; perhaps akin to Latin regere to lead straight, guide, rule — more at right
1.
a. : very firm rather than pliant in composition or structure : lacking or devoid of flexibility : inflexible in nature : hard
metals are not perfectly rigid but elastic — Charles Babbage
a rigid totalitarian system — Harrison Smith
rigid governmental controls
b. : stiff and unyielding in appearance
his face was rigid with pain
2.
a. : inflexibly fixed or set in opinion : scrupulously exact with respect to opinions or observances
rigid on points of theology — G.R.Crone
a rigid Catholic
s
b. : strictly observed : characterized by scrupulous exactness in observance
rigid principles of honesty
rigid adherence to rules
condemns the rigid observance of artistic conventions — Laurence Binyon
3. : rigorous or harsh in character : inflexible rather than lax or indulgent : severe
rigid inquiry
a rigid schoolmaster
rigid treatment
4. : precise and accurate in procedure : exact in method : characterized by an undeviating adherence to strict accuracy
rigid control of chemical composition and processing methods — Steel
5.
a. : having the gas containers enclosed within compartments of a fixed fabric-covered framework or hull that carries cabins, gondolas, and motors
a rigid airship
b. : having the outer shape maintained by a fixed framework
6. : of, relating to, or constituting a branch of dynamics in which the bodies whose motions are considered are treated as being absolutely invariable in shape and size under the application of force
Synonyms:
rigorous , strict , stringent : rigid may suggest stiff, uncompromising or unbending inflexibility
a rigid system, faithfully administered, would be better than a slatternly compromise — A.C.Benson
the Mosaic conception of morality as a code of rigid and inflexible rules, arbitrarily ordained, and to be blindly obeyed — Havelock Ellis
rigorous suggests a harsh, severe, inflexible exaction or imposition unabated or unmitigated and entailing hardship and difficulty
the king, therefore, although far from clement, was not extremely rigorous. He refused the object of the appeal, but he did not put the envoys to death — J.L.Motley
to stay in the harsh, cruel, cold climate and endure the cramped and rigorous life of the struggling back-country settlement — B.K.Sandwell
a time-table almost as rigorous as that of the locomotive engineer — Lewis Mumford
strict implies tight conformity ruling out deviation, looseness, laxity, latitude, or mitigation
strict enforcement of the speed laws
ritual is not easy compliance with usage; it is strict compliance with detailed and punctilious rule — W.G.Sumner
stringent suggests severe, tight restriction, constriction, or limitation that checks, curbs, circumscribes, or coerces
he bound me in the most stringent terms to say no further word to himself, his methods, or his successes — A. Conan Doyle
the law was so stringent that magazines containing patent medicine advertising could not be shipped into the Philippines unless the formulae were published — V.G.Heiser
the legal terms of his bondage became more stringent, the possibility of emancipation narrower, and the regulation of the emancipated more restrictive — Oscar Handlin
Synonym: see in addition stiff .