Meanings
plural rigours · alternative rigor
- countableuncountableSeverity or strictness.
And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 1:13–14 - countableuncountableHarshness, as of climate.
- countableuncountablemedicineA feeling of cold with shivering accompanied by a rise in body temperature.
- countableuncountableCharacter of being unyielding or inflexible.
- countableuncountableShrewd questioning.
- countableuncountableHigher level of difficulty.
- UKcountablemisspellinguncountableMisspelling of rigor (“rigor mortis”).
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe quality of being valid and rigorous
nounsomething hard to endure
nounexcessive sternness
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinrigor“stiffness, rigidity, rigor, cold, harshness”
- Old Frenchrigor
- Middle Englishrigour
- Englishrigour
From Middle English rigour, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French rigor, from Latin rigor (“stiffness, rigidity, rigor, cold, harshness”), from rigere (“to be rigid”). Compare French rigueur.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek χαλεπότης
- χαλεπότης (khalepótēs)harshness
Bulgarian суровост, непреклонност
- суровост (surovost)harshness
- непреклонност (nepreklonnost)character of being unyielding or inflexible
- вкочанясване (vkočanjasvane)an abbreviated form of rigor mortis
Finnish ankaruus, tiukkuus
- ankaruusharshness
- tiukkuusharshness
- joustamattomuuscharacter of being unyielding or inflexible
- vaikeushigher level of difficulty
French rigueur
- rigueurcharacter of being unyielding or inflexible
Latin rigor
- rigorcharacter of being unyielding or inflexible
Norwegian vigor
- vigorharshness
Portuguese rigor
- rigorhigher level of difficulty
Romanian severitate, rigoare
- severitateharshness
- rigoareharshness
- rigurozitatecharacter of being unyielding or inflexible
- fermitatecharacter of being unyielding or inflexible
- asprimehigher level of difficulty
- severitatehigher level of difficulty
Russian стро́гость, суро́вость
- стро́гость (strógostʹ)severity or strictness
- суро́вость (suróvostʹ)severity or strictness
- твёрдость (tvjórdostʹ)severity or strictness
- суро́вость (suróvostʹ)harshness
- оцепене́ние (ocepenénije)trembling or shivering response
- неумоли́мость (neumolímostʹ)character of being unyielding or inflexible
- неукосни́тельность (neukosnítelʹnostʹ)character of being unyielding or inflexible
- тя́готы (tjágoty)higher level of difficulty
- тя́жесть (tjážestʹ)higher level of difficulty
Spanish rigor, riguridad
- rigorseverity or strictness
- riguridadseverity or strictness
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with rigour
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
rigour. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rigour
“rigour.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rigour. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rigour,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rigour.
Source: rigour on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.