1
a(1)
: harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper, or judgment : severity
The least one might observe is that this muddle of moralism and laxity, extreme rigor and casual permissiveness, arduous altruism and nonchalant selfishness, has consequences.—
Peter Berkowitz
Peter Berkowitz
(2)
: the quality of being unyielding or inflexible : strictness
Their abandonment of this terminology is part of an effort to soften the rigor of some of the rigid consequences thought to flow from the mechanical application of this dichotomy.—John D. Calamari and Joseph M. Perillo
John D. Calamari and Joseph M. Perillo
(3)
: severity of life : austerity
… a moral rigor and growth that might help this country.—Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann
b
: an act or instance of strictness, severity, or cruelty
… the humanist must recognize the normality, the practical necessity of the very rigors he is trying to soften and correct.—Hermann J. Muller
Hermann J. Muller2
: a tremor caused by a chill
This young woman presented at the hospital with severe abdominal pain and signs of infection, including fever, rigor, and leukocytosis.—Robert E. Scully et al.
Robert E. Scully et al.3
: a condition that makes life difficult, challenging, or uncomfortable
especially
: extremity of cold
the rigors of a New England winter
4
: strict precision : exactness
logical rigor
Tentatively one might suggest that what characterizes science is the rigor of its methodology …—Ernst Mayr
Ernst Mayr5
b
: rigidness or torpor of organs or tissue that prevents response to stimuli
c
: rigor mortis
A fish has its best flavor and texture when cooked while just coming out of rigor.—Jane Daniels Lear
Jane Daniels Lear
Examples of rigor in a Sentence
They underwent the rigors of military training.
the rigors of life in the wilderness
They conducted the experiments with scientific rigor.
a scholar known for her intellectual rigor
Recent Examples on the Web
The Case For Psychological Resilience To stay competitive, organizations must abandon the comfort of satisfaction metrics and instead embrace the rigor of psychological resilience.
—Angelica Kopec, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Thanks to his belief in Jackson and his exhaustive artistic rigor, the pair broke all sorts of records and set new templates for pop stardom.
—Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024
The need for operational rigor doesn’t go away when, and if, a company sees its business boom, as New Balance did after hitting $6.5 billion in revenue in 2023, Wheeler noted.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2024
Surely, Parker had no desire to be measured against that sort of rigor.
—Sloane Crosley, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rigor 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Angelica Kopec, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Thanks to his belief in Jackson and his exhaustive artistic rigor, the pair broke all sorts of records and set new templates for pop stardom.
—Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024
The need for operational rigor doesn’t go away when, and if, a company sees its business boom, as New Balance did after hitting $6.5 billion in revenue in 2023, Wheeler noted.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2024
Surely, Parker had no desire to be measured against that sort of rigor.
—Sloane Crosley, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rigor
Articles Related to rigor
Dictionary Entries Near rigor
Cite this Entry
“Rigor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rigor. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share