Synonyms of rigor

rigor

noun

ˈri-gər 

1

as in hardship

something that is a cause for suffering or special effort especially in the attainment of a goal

hard-bitten folk who survived many rigors on the way to the promised land

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hardship
• difficulty
• hardness
• obstacle
• adversity
• hurdle
• asperity
• trial
• discomfort
• inconvenience
• obstruction
• tragedy
• tribulation
• interference
• impediment
• nuisance
• inhibition
• misfortune
• hindrance
• embarrassment
• let
• encumbrance
• deterrent
• mishap
• affliction
• chain
• rub
• handicap
• shackle
• hitch
• catch
• knock
• snag
• stop
• crimp
• clog
• trammel
• manacle
• block
• pons asinorum
• hump
• check
• bar
• fetter

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• opportunity
• advantage
• break

2

as in severity

the quality or state of being demanding or unyielding (as in discipline or criticism)

after being coddled by his former coach, the swimmer was shocked by the rigor of the new training program

Synonyms & Similar Words

• severity
• rigidity
• strictness
• stringency
• inflexibility
• sternness
• rigidness
• hardness
• harshness
• rigorousness
• exactingness
• implacability
• callousness
• obduracy
• gruffness
• resolve
• steadfastness
• pitilessness
• determination
• monasticism
• firmness
• asceticism
• dourness
• obstinacy
• stubbornness
• hard-heartedness
• obdurateness
• austerity
• austereness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flexibility
• gentleness
• tolerance
• patience
• tenderness
• softness
• indulgence
• kindness
• laxness
• forbearance
• responsiveness
• willingness
• mildness
• compliance
• lenience
• pliability
• pliancy

3

as in accuracy

the quality or state of being very accurate

said that she had heard that excuse a million times, but then she was never known for the rigor of her calculations

Synonyms & Similar Words

• accuracy
• precision
• preciseness
• perfection
• exactness
• exactitude
• fidelity
• definiteness
• veracity
• rigorousness
• truth
• nicety
• fineness
• definitiveness
• accurateness
• strictness
• delicacy
• closeness
• correctness
• ultraprecision
• rightness
• subtlety
• determinacy
• meticulousness
• fastidiousness
• carefulness
• definitude
• care
• persnicketiness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• roughness
• imprecision
• inaccuracy
• approximation
• coarseness
• roundness
• inexactness
• inexactitude
• wrongness
• falsity
• impreciseness
• carelessness
• incorrectness
• looseness
• falseness
• vagueness
• guesswork
• indefiniteness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of rigor

Tryfman said the heavy caseload of a public defender has prepared her for the bench’s rigors. — Jon Regardie, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Swain found that evidence lacked the kind of empirical testing and analytical rigor to be reliable. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 30 Sep. 2026

The overuse comes mainly from talking, not singing, Dasha tells Billboard, and from the rigors of the road. — Melinda Newman, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2026

In a tense interview last week on Israel’s Channel 13, the reporter Raviv Drucker pressed Abraham on the film’s choice to show its subjects draped in shadow to conceal their identities—saying the approach lacks journalistic rigor. — Hannah Seligson, Vanity Fair, 28 Sep. 2026