Adjacent Words

Rigid definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RIG'ID, a. [Gr. to be stiff; L. frigeo, frigidus; Heb. to be still, to be stiff.]
1. Stiff; not pliant; not easily bent. It is applied to bodies or substances that are naturally soft or flexible, but not fluid. We never say, a rigid stone or rigid iron, nor do we say, rigid ice; but we say, an animal body or limb, when cold, is rigid. Rigid is then opposed to flexible, but expresses less than inflexible.
2. Strict in opinion, practice or discipline; severe in temper; opposed to lax or indulgent; as a rigid father or master; a rigid officer.
3. Strict; exact; as a rigid law or rule; rigid discipline; rigid criticism.
4. Severely just; as a rigid sentence or judgment.
5. Exactly according to the sentence or law; as rigid execution.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: incapable of or resistant to bending; "a rigid strip of metal"; "a table made of rigid plastic"; "a palace guardsman stiff as a poker"; "stiff hair"; "a stiff neck" [syn: rigid, stiff]
2: incapable of compromise or flexibility [syn: rigid, strict]
3: incapable of adapting or changing to meet circumstances; "a rigid disciplinarian"; "an inflexible law"; "an unbending will to dominate" [syn: inflexible, rigid, unbending]
4: designating an airship or dirigible having a form maintained by a stiff unyielding frame or structure [ant: nonrigid]
5: fixed and unmoving; "with eyes set in a fixed glassy stare"; "his bearded face already has a set hollow look"- Connor Cruise O'Brien; "a face rigid with pain" [syn: fixed, set, rigid]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English rigide, from Latin rigidus, from rig?re to be stiff Date: 15th century 1. a. deficient in or devoid of flexibility <rigid price controls> <a rigid bar of metal> b. appearing stiff and unyielding <his face rigid with pain> 2. a. inflexibly set in opinion b. strictly observed <adheres to a rigid schedule> 3. firmly inflexible rather than lax or indulgent <a rigid disciplinarian> 4. precise and accurate in procedure <rigid control of the manufacturing process> 5. of an airship having the outer shape maintained by a fixed framework • rigidly adverb • rigidness noun Synonyms: rigid, rigorous, strict, stringent mean extremely severe or stern. rigid implies uncompromising inflexibility <rigid rules of conduct>. rigorous implies the imposition of hardship and difficulty <the rigorous training of recruits>. strict emphasizes undeviating conformity to rules, standards, or requirements <strict enforcement of the law>. stringent suggests severe, tight restriction or limitation <stringent standards of admission>. Synonym: see in addition stiff.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 not flexible; that cannot be bent (a rigid frame). 2 (of a person, conduct, etc.) inflexible, unbending, strict, harsh, punctilious (a rigid disciplinarian; rigid economy). Derivatives: rigidity n. rigidly adv. rigidness n. Etymology: F rigide or L rigidus f. rigere be stiff

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rigid Rig"id, a. [L. rigidus, fr. rigere to be stiff or numb: cf. F. rigide. Cf. Rigor. ] 1. Firm; stiff; unyielding; not pliant; not flexible. Upright beams innumerable Of rigid spears. --Milton. 2. Hence, not lax or indulgent; severe; inflexible; strict; as, a rigid father or master; rigid discipline; rigid criticism; a rigid sentence. The more rigid order of principles in religion and government. --Hawthorne. Syn: Stiff; unpliant; inflexible; unyielding; strict; exact; severe; austere; stern; rigorous; unmitigated.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Laws, rules, or systems that are rigid cannot be changed or varied, and are therefore considered to be rather severe. Several colleges in our study have rigid rules about student conduct... ? flexible ADJ [disapproval] • rigidity ...the rigidity of government policy. N-UNCOUNT • rigidly The caste system was rigidly enforced. ADV: ADV with v 2. If you disapprove of someone because you think they are not willing to change their way of thinking or behaving, you can describe them as rigid. She was a fairly rigid person who had strong religious views... ADJ [disapproval] 3. A rigid substance or object is stiff and does not bend, stretch, or twist easily. ...rigid plastic containers... ? flexible ADJ • rigidity ...the strength and rigidity of glass.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Stiff, stiffened, inflexible, unpliant, unbending, unyielding. 2. Stiff, bristling, erect, precipitous, steep. 3. Sharp, severe, strict, stern, rigorous, harsh, austere, inflexible, exact, unmitigated. 4. Sharp, cruel.

Moby Thesaurus

abiding, accurate, adamant, adamantine, at a standstill, attentive, austere, buckram, careful, cast-iron, changeless, close, conscientious, constant, continuing, correct, critical, delicate, demanding, detailed, determined, direct, dogged, dour, draconian, durable, enduring, even, exact, exacting, exigent, express, exquisite, faithful, fine, finical, finicking, finicky, firm, firm as Gibraltar, fixed, flinty, frozen, fundamentalist, fussy, grim, hard, hard and fast, hard-core, hard-line, harsh, headstrong, hidebound, immobile, immotile, immotive, immovable, immutable, implacable, impliable, in buckram, inelastic, inerrable, inerrant, inexorable, infallible, inflexible, infrangible, intact, intransigent, inviolate, iron, ironbound, ironclad, ironhanded, irreconcilable, irremovable, lasting, literal, made of iron, mathematical, meticulous, micrometrically precise, microscopic, minute, mulish, muscle-bound, narrow, nice, obdurate, obstinate, orthodox, painstaking, particular, pat, permanent, perpetual, persevering, persistent, pigheaded, pinpoint, pokerlike, precise, precisianistic, precisionistic, prim, procrustean, punctilious, punctual, purist, puristic, puritan, puritanic, quiescent, ramrodlike, refined, relentless, religious, religiously exact, remaining, renitent, resolute, resolved, rigorist, rigoristic, rigorous, rock-ribbed, rockbound, rodlike, scientific, scientifically exact, scrupulous, scrutinizing, set, severe, single-minded, solid, sound, square, stable, standpat, starch, starched, starchy, static, stationary, staunch, staying, steadfast, steely, stern, stiff, stiff as buckram, stilted, stout, straightlaced, strait-laced, straitlaced, strict, stringent, strong, stubborn, sturdy, subtle, sustained, taut, tenacious, tense, thorough, tight, torpid, tough, unadaptable, unaffected, unalterable, unaltered, unbending, unbreakable, unchangeable, unchanged, unchanging, unchecked, uncompliant, uncompromising, undestroyed, undeviating, unerring, unfading, unfailing, unflexible, ungiving, unmovable, unmoved, unmoving, unqualified, unrelaxed, unrelenting, unshifting, unswerving, unvaried, unvarying, unwavering, unyielding, virgate