Rigorousness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being very strict, precise, or severe in enforcing rules or standards
2. A characteristic of thoroughness and exactness in following procedures or criteria
3. The state of applying intense accuracy, discipline, or harshness in requirements or processes

Etymology: "Rigorousness" is a plain formation: the adjective "rigorous" with the suffix "-ness", which turns an adjective into a noun naming a quality. "Rigorous" itself came into English from Old French "rigoreus", ultimately from Latin "rigor", meaning stiffness or hardness, the same root that gave us "rigid". So the underlying idea is physical firmness, which later hardened into a sense of severity and then of strict exactness. The noun appeared in Middle English in forms such as "rigoresnes" and "rigorousenes", showing how English speakers first attached "-ness" to the adjective and then gradually settled on the shorter spelling. The modern sense, a quality of thoroughness and exactness in following procedures, grew out of the older notion of strictness: a rigorous standard is one that leaves no slack, and the noun names the quality of meeting such a standard.

Synonyms: strictness, severity, harshness, sternness, stringency

Antonyms: leniency, mildness, tolerance, flexibility, indulgence