ˈrigə(r), in sense 2 “ or chiefly Brit ˈrīˌgȯ(ə)(r or -īgə(r noun
( -s )
Usage: see -or
Etymology: Middle English rigour, from Middle French rigueur, from Latin rigor stiffness, hardness, inflexibility, from rigēre to be stiff + -or — more at rigid
1.
a.
(1) : often harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper, or judgment : severity , sternness
the moral rigor … which prohibits … such innocent pleasures as … dancing at the crossroads — H.M.Reynolds
(2) : the quality of being unyielding or inflexible : exactingness without allowance, deviation, or indulgence : strictness
juries are the device by which the rigor of the law is modified — C.E.Wyzanski
(3) : strictness or severity of life : austerity
b. : an act or instance of strictness, severity, harshness, oppression, or cruelty
the humanist must recognize the normality, the practical necessity of the very rigors he is trying to soften — H.J.Muller
2. : a chill or chilliness, with contraction of muscle and convulsive shuddering or tremor (as in the chill preceding a fever)
3. : a condition that makes life difficult, challenging, or uncomfortable ; especially : extremity of cold
the rigors of a northern winter
did not intend to let the rigors of a strange land frighten her away — Green Peyton
4. : strict precision : exactness
built upon systems of postulates by means of theorems developed with logical rigor — Joshua Whatmough
5.
a. obsolete : the quality or state of being rigid : rigidity , stiffness
b. : a state of rigidity in organs, tissues, or cells during which they are incapable of responding to stimuli and which is induced by factors arising in the organism (as accumulation of toxic substances) or impinging on the organism from without (as excessive but not immediately lethal temperature) — see rigor mortis
Synonyms: see difficulty