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rigidity
/rɪˈdʒɪdɪti/
stiffness or inflexibility
The rigidity of the material made it difficult to bend.
The material's stiffness prevented it from being easily bent.
Engineering
technical
The quality of being stiff or unyielding, resisting deformation or change
Engineers measured the rigidity of the bridge's support beams.
Engineers tested how stiff the bridge's support beams were.
Often quantified in engineering as a measure of resistance to bending or torsion.
general
Inflexibility in behavior, attitude, or thinking
His rigidity in decision-making frustrated the team.
His inflexibility in making decisions annoyed the team.
Used metaphorically to describe people or systems that resist change.
technical
A measure of a material's resistance to deformation under stress
The rigidity of steel allows it to support heavy loads.
Steel's stiffness enables it to bear heavy weights.
In physics, often calculated as the ratio of shear stress to shear strain.
Collocations
structural rigiditythe stiffness of a structure's frameworkmental rigidityinflexibility in thinking or attitudesincrease rigiditymake something stiffer or more inflexible
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Technical vs. Figurative Use
Rigidity can describe physical stiffness (e.g., materials) or metaphorical inflexibility (e.g., people).
Gold Rule
Context Matters
Always check if rigidity is being used literally (e.g., engineering) or figuratively (e.g., personality).
Word Origin
From Latin 'rigiditas', meaning 'stiffness', derived from 'rigidus' (stiff).
Usage Notes
In technical contexts, rigidity is often quantified mathematically. In social contexts, it describes resistance to change.
Word Breakdown
rigid
stiff or inflexible
root-ity
quality or state of
suffixEnglish Dictionary