rigged

adjective

ˈrigd 

1

: manipulated or controlled by deceptive or dishonest means

a rigged election

Attempts to pass a rigged repatriation bill are exhibit A of what enrages Americans about Washington and Wall Street.

—Brent Budowsky

His reluctance stemmed not from a lack of mercy but from his sense that pardons were a rigged game, tilted in favor of offenders with political connections.

—Massimo Calabresi et al.

2

: fitted out with rigging of a specified kind

The Cornish lugger was a small, two-masted, fore-and-aft rigged boat.

—Mark Kurlansky

When she enters service in the fall of 1999, only the second five-masted full rigged ship ever built, she will bear the moniker of "the largest true sailing ship afloat today."

—Kevin Haydon

Examples of rigged in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But by the end, Alyssa’s woo-woo outlook seems as reasonable as Dreux’s more traditional attempts to get ahead, when the game is so rigged that every wrong move seems to incur a lifetime penalty. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 Jan. 2025

But many Democrats saw the move as fueling the kind of arguments of a rigged and unfair system that have been pushed by Trump. —The Hill Staff, The Hill, 6 Dec. 2024

But a number of Democrats saw President Biden’s sweeping clemency for his son — clearing him of any federal crimes committed during an 11-year period — as fueling the kind of arguments of a rigged and unfair system that are pushed by Trump. —Emily Brooks, The Hill, 2 Dec. 2024

Throughout the Capitol, on TVs playing C-SPAN, the newly sworn in President was talking about a rigged election. —Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1500, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing rigged

• jerry-rigged
• square-rigged

Rhymes for rigged

• reneged
• digged