rigid

[ rij-id ]
See synonyms for rigid on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. stiff or unyielding; not pliant or flexible; hard: a rigid strip of metal.

  2. firmly fixed or set.

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

  2. exacting; thorough; rigorous: a rigid examination.

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

  4. Mechanics. of, relating 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.

  5. 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.

Origin of rigid

1
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin rigidus, equivalent to rig(ēre) “to be stiff, stiffen” + -idus-id4

synonym study For rigid

3. See strict.

Other words for rigid

Opposites for rigid

Other words from rigid

  • 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
  • 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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rigid in a sentence

  • Tony, less self-centred, less rigidly contained, had penetrated her by an understanding sympathy greater than his own.

    The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
  • Every movement rigidly prescribed, arms held rigid and sharply bent at the elbows.

    The Man from Time | Frank Belknap Long
  • The voice that had been held rigidly to the usual calm clarity of an official announcer became suddenly high-pitched and vibrant.

  • A fixed time-table was imposed, to be rigidly observed by all classes of paupers, in all workhouses, at all seasons of the year.

  • Her hand clasped the back of the seat rigidly, as if she were holding something down.

British Dictionary definitions for rigid

rigid

/ (ˈrɪdʒɪd) /


adjective
  1. not bending; physically inflexible or stiff: a rigid piece of plastic

  2. unbending; rigorously strict; severe: rigid rules

adverb
  1. completely or excessively: the lecture bored him rigid

Origin of rigid

1
C16: from Latin rigidus, from rigēre to be stiff

Derived forms of rigid

  • rigidly, adverb
  • rigidity or rigidness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012