Meanings
nounrigorist (plural rigorists)
plural rigorists · alternative rigourist
- Someone who takes the strictest interpretation of a law, religious injunction etc.
These rigorists wanted to borrow Old Testament exclusions from participation in the Temple liturgy and apply them to pregnant women and the sexual relations of married couples.
2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 338
adjectiverigorist (comparative more rigorist, superlative most rigorist)
comparative more rigorist · superlative most rigorist · alternative rigourist
- Of, pertaining to or in the fashion of rigorists or rigorism.
Origin
- Latinrigor
- Englishrigorist
From rigour, or its source, Latin rigor, + -ist.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
rigorist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rigorist
MLA
“rigorist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rigorist. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rigorist,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rigorist.
Source: rigorist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.