rigidity

English

Etymology

From rigid +‎ -ity, from Latin rigiditas.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈd͡ʒɪdɪti/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Noun

rigidity (countable and uncountable, plural rigidities)

1. The quality or state of being rigid; lack of pliability; the quality of resisting change of physical shape.

   moral rigidity

   The metal’s rigidity made it hard to bend.

   She disliked the rigidity of the rules.

   • 1958 September, “Swindon's First Main-Line Diesel Locomotive”, in Railway Magazine, page 601:

     For rigidity, two bulkheads are provided which are welded to the sides and underframe and which separate the cabs from the engine room.

2. The amount of resistance with which a body opposes change of form.

   structural rigidity

3. Stiffness of appearance or manner; want of ease or elegance.

   speak with excessive rigidity

4. (economics) stickiness (of prices/wages etc.). Describing the tendency of prices and money wages to adjust to changes in the economy with a certain delay.

Synonyms

• rigidness

Antonyms

• flexibility
• ductility
• malleability
• softness

Derived terms

• Born rigidity
• modulus of rigidity
• rigidity modulus

Translations

The quality or state of being rigid

Asturian: rixidez (ast) f Bulgarian: скованост (bg) f (skovanost), неподвижност (bg) f (nepodvižnost) Catalan: rigidesa (ca) f, rigiditat f Finnish: jäykkyys (fi), kankeus (fi) French: rigidité (fr) f, raideur (fr) m Galician: rixidez (gl) f German: Festigkeit (de) f Hindi: कठोरता (hi) f (kaṭhortā) Hungarian: merevség (hu) Italian: rigidità (it) f Latin: rigor m Latvian: stingums m Malayalam: ദൃഢത (ml) (dr̥ḍhata) Portuguese: rigidez (pt) f Romanian: rigiditate (ro) f Russian: жёсткость (ru) (žóstkostʹ) Spanish: rigidez (es) f Ukrainian: жо́рсткість f (žórstkistʹ)

Stiffness of appearance or manner

Bulgarian: принуденост (bg) f (prinudenost), неелегантност f (neelegantnost) Finnish: jäykkyys (fi) Latvian: stingums m

References

• “rigidity”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.