rigid
/ˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪd/adjective, noun
rigid is spelled R-I-G-I-D: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, rigid means “Stiff, rather than flexible” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rigid?
| Letters | 5: R-I-G-I-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.6 times per million words; the 10,358th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is rigid?
Rigid appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rigid?
- US /ˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪd/
- /ˈɹəd͡ʒ.əd/
Rigid has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-rigid.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of rigid
- rigider comparative
- more rigid comparative
- rigidest superlative
- most rigid superlative
- rigids plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rigid mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Stiff, rather than flexible.
- 2
Having inflexible thoughts, opinions, or beliefs.
- 3
Fixed, rather than moving.
- 4
Rigorous and unbending.
- 5
Uncompromising.
Despite arguments to the contrary, she remained rigid in her stand.
noun
- 1
An airship whose shape is maintained solely by an internal and/or external rigid structural framework, without using internal gas pressure to stiffen the vehicle (the lifting gas is at atmospheric pressure); typically also equipped with multiple redundant gasbags, unlike other types of airship.
The rigid could reach the greatest sizes and speeds of any airship, but was expensive to build and bulky to store. Rigids fell out of favor after the R101 and Hindenburg disasters made the type seem unsafe to the travelling public.
- 2
A bicycle with no suspension system.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate rigid?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of rigid: PBR.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rigid in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rigid come from?
From Middle English rigide, from Latin rigidus (“stiff”), from rigeō (“to be stiff”). Compare rigor. Merged with Middle English rigged, rygged, rugged (“upright like a spine, rigid”, literally “ridged”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).