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rigidity

[rij-id]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective

stiff or unyielding; not pliant or flexible; hard: a rigid strip of metal.

firmly fixed or set.

inflexible, strict, or severe: a rigid disciplinarian; rigid rules of social behavior.

exacting; thorough; rigorous: a rigid examination.

so as to meet precise standards; stringent: lenses ground to rigid specifications.

EXPAND

Mechanics. of, pertaining to, or noting a body in which the distance between any pair of points remains fixed under all forces; having infinite values for its shear modulus, bulk modulus, and Young's modulus.

Aeronautics.

(of an airship or dirigible) having a form maintained by a stiff, unyielding structure contained within the envelope.

pertaining to a helicopter rotor that is held fixedly at its root.

COLLAPSE

Origin:
1530–40; < Latin rigidus, equivalent to rig(ēre) to be stiff, stiffen + -idus -id⁴

Related forms

ri·gid·i·ty, rig·id·ness, noun

rig·id·ly, adverb

o·ver·rig·id, adjective

o·ver·rig·id·ly, adverb

o·ver·rig·id·ness, noun

EXPAND

o·ver·ri·gid·i·ty, noun

sub·rig·id, adjective

sub·rig·id·ly, adverb

sub·rig·id·ness, noun

sub·ri·gid·i·ty, noun

un·rig·id, adjective

un·rig·id·ly, adverb

un·rig·id·ness, noun

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. unbending, firm, inflexible. 2. immovable, static. 3. austere, stern, unyielding. See strict. 4, 5. demanding.

Antonyms
1. elastic. 3. lax.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To rigidity

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Rigidity is always a great word to know.

So is zedonk. Does it mean:

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

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Example Sentences

As the neurons die, patients develop tremors, experience spells of rigidity and may lose their sense of smell.

Labour unions introduce rigidity into labour markets.

Comfort and rigidity are key features of the line of shoes.

EXPAND

As the neurons die, patients develop tremors, experience spells of rigidity and may lose their sense of smell.

Labour unions introduce rigidity into labour markets.

Comfort and rigidity are key features of the line of shoes.

Researchers have created a novel nanomaterial that combines the strength of spider silk with the rigidity of silica.

The pair think they've mapped the mathematical underpinnings of its rigidity.

Yes to standards and no to the bureaucratic rigidity that undermines the best of our educational system.

The euro combines the rigidity of fixed exchange rates, without the discipline needed to prevent imbalances.

In addition, an injection-molded arch shank add torsional rigidity that keeps you balanced mile after mile.

At the same time, he makes much of the rigidity so evident among some in the majority.

The lack of rigidity that comes with this age-old design is mitigated here.

Orwellian dungeon of oppression and rigidity is simply wrong.

But pulling this redesign off is tricky, because their rigidity is a result of their internal pressurisation.

Molded nylon shank provides torsional rigidity and support.

Iron bars were fitted to line the interior to give the shell extra strength and rigidity.

Lacing far down the toe adds rigidity for powering up moderate routes.

Likewise, you would also expect to see greater rigidity in the setting of nominal prices.

Heavy-duty endcaps provide extra structural rigidity.

The risks now are that his reaction to the past clouds his judgment and that his intellectual rigidity again becomes a constraint.

The lack of longitudinal rigidity led directly to the collapse.

Misguided monetary rigidity caused financial instability.

There is much more flexibility for the examinee than with the lockstep rigidity of paper-based tests administered in huge halls.

The rigidity of the public sector does not merely reduce the quality of services.

The rigidity of the exchange-rate regime gets in the way of policies that might temper these forces.

And the one-size-fits-all rigidity of the euro makes things worse.

And the answer to the problem is not greater rigidity.

Pissarides makes a good point about the state-enforced rigidity in the labor market.

More than any reservation scheme, this will go a long way in breaking rigidity.

One is the rigidity of its exchange-rate peg, and the strength of the dollar.

But the showdown exposed the party to the charge of recklessness, highlighted its rigidity on taxes and seemed to reveal a rift.

What people have done is impose rigidity on a world that is naturally flexible.

Their rigidity makes them utterly unfit for the legislature.

The rigidity of the university hierarchy determines their failure.

She appeared to reflect her mother's rigidity on questions of faith.

And in the long run, flexibility always outcompetes rigidity.

More frustrating to some librarians than the salaries per se is the relative rigidity of salary schedules on many campuses.

Perhaps fluidity and rigidity are destined to dance forever and ever across time.

Aside from the dramatic power of the scene, what's striking is the father's conceptual rigidity.

Resulting in straightening followed either by sit-all-day slouching or the rigidity of a tin soldier.

It was a smart move away from the rigidity demanded by many.

If you want to add additional rigidity the table top can be screwed through to the edge ply of the leg frames.

Cosworth claimed that the greater rigidity required in the complex cylinder head increased manufacturing time by a factor of ten.

And with inequality rising, that rigidity seems less acceptable.

Organisms use water to add rigidity to cells and transport nutrients.

It is composed of a unique alloy of steel for rigidity and vibranium to absorb the energy of a blow or death beam.

Chirac's policies veered between free-market measures and statist rigidity.

The tableau is completed by the ritual complaints about the rigidity and incompetence of bureaucrats.

Batalov has made the film bespeak the rigidity and artificiality of the bourgeois milieu in which the little man lives.

The accusation of rigidity arises from his support for and strict adherence to firm guidelines for sentencing violent criminals.

Americans often feel thwarted, that they can't break through the rigidity of their positions”.

Conservatism and respect for authority become rigidity and an inability to innovate.

It sometimes leads to rigidity and high unemployment.

At times there is apparent a rigidity induced by the cinema deep-freeze.

The rigidity of human reason was no match for the plasticity of microbes.

It introduced an excessive degree of rigidity in crises.

Unfortunately, many of these countries are moving away from that due to cultural rigidity and ethnically divisive politics.

After all, the only rigidity enforced by the gold standard is on the central bank's use of the printing press.

One of the main problems was the rigidity of the labour market.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

rigid (ˈrɪdʒɪd)

—*adj*
1.	not bending; physically inflexible or stiff: a rigid piece of plastic
2.	unbending; rigorously strict; severe: rigid rules

—*adv*
3.	completely or excessively: the lecture bored him rigid

[C16: from Latin rigidus, from rigēre to be stiff]

'rigidly

—*adv*

ri'gidity

—n

'rigidness

—n

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

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

rigid

1538, from L. rigidus "hard, stiff, rough, severe," from rigere "be stiff," from PIE *reig- "stretch (tight), bind tightly, make fast" (cf. O.Ir. riag "torture," M.H.G. ric "band, string"), related to L. frigus "cold," Gk. rhigos "frost, cold."

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

rigidity ri·gid·i·ty (rĭ-jĭd'ĭ-tē)
n.

The quality or state of stiffness or inflexibility. Also called rigor.
An aspect of the personality characterized by resistance to change.

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"I am a woman, and even if I could proceed with harshness and rigidity, it would disgust me nonetheless."

-Franz Grillparzer

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