rig·or

[rig-er]
noun
1.
strictness, severity, or harshness, as in dealing with people.
2.
the full or extreme severity of laws, rules, etc.
3.
severity of living conditions; hardship; austerity: the rigor of wartime existence.
4.
a severe or harsh act, circumstance, etc.
5.
scrupulous or inflexible accuracy or adherence: the logical rigor of mathematics.
6.
severity of weather or climate or an instance of this: the rigors of winter.
7.
Pathology. a sudden coldness, as that preceding certain fevers; chill.
8.
Physiology. a state of rigidity in muscle tissues during which they are unable to respond to stimuli due to the coagulation of muscle protein.
9.
Obsolete. stiffness or rigidity.
Also, especially British, rigour.


Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English rigour < Latin rigor stiffness, equivalent to rig(ēre) to be stiff + -or -or1


1. inflexibility, stringency. 4. cruelty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To Rigor
00:10
Rigor is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Collins
World English Dictionary
rigor (ˈraɪɡɔː, ˈrɪɡə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  med a sudden feeling of chilliness, often accompanied by shivering: it sometimes precedes a fever
2.  pathol rigidity of a muscle; muscular cramp
3.  a state of rigidity assumed by some animals in reaction to sudden shock
4.  the inertia assumed by some plants in conditions unfavourable to growth
 
[see rigour]

rigour or (US) rigor (ˈrɪɡə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  harsh but just treatment or action
2.  a severe or cruel circumstance; hardship: the rigours of famine
3.  strictness, harshness, or severity of character
4.  strictness in judgment or conduct; rigorism
5.  maths, logic logical validity or accuracy
6.  obsolete rigidity
 
[C14: from Latin rigor]
 
rigor or (US) rigor
 
n
 
[C14: from Latin rigor]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

rigor
late 14c., from O.Fr. rigor (13c.), from L. rigorem (nom. rigor) "numbness, stiffness, rigor," from rigere "be stiff" (see rigid). Rigor mortis is 1839, from L. rigor "stiffness" + mortis, gen. of mors "death" (see mortal).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

rigor rig·or (rĭg'ər)
n.

  1. See rigidity.

  2. Shivering or trembling, as caused by a chill.

  3. A state of rigidity in living tissues or organs that prevents response to stimuli.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
Her limited government tenure is marked by ethical rigor and frugality.
But his new film can also be admired for its atmospheric power, which is as
  real as its verbal fatuousness and softened rigor.
Researchers aim to put more rigor into studies of media bias.
Soon the grim rigor of his hand relaxes, his fingers merely stretching now, as
  if reaching for the far notes on his piano.
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