stringent

adjective

strin·​gent ˈstrin-jənt How to pronounce stringent (audio)
1
2
: marked by rigor, strictness, or severity especially with regard to rule or standard
stringent decontamination procedures
3
: marked by money scarcity and credit strictness
a stringent budget
stringently adverb

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How Should You Use stringent?

Words that are synonymous with stringent include rigid, which implies uncompromising inflexibility ("rigid rules of conduct"), and rigorous, which suggests hardship and difficulty ("the rigorous training of firefighters"). Also closely related is strict, which emphasizes undeviating conformity to rules, standards, or requirements ("strict enforcement of the law"). Stringent usually involves severe, tight restrictions or limitations ("the college has stringent admissions rules"). That's logical. After all, rigorous and rigid are both derived from rigēre, the Latin word meaning "to be stiff," and stringent and strict developed from the Latin verb stringere, meaning "to bind tight."

Choose the Right Synonym for stringent

rigid, rigorous, strict, stringent mean extremely severe or stern.

rigid implies uncompromising inflexibility.

rigid rules of conduct

rigorous implies the imposition of hardship and difficulty.

the rigorous training of recruits

strict emphasizes undeviating conformity to rules, standards, or requirements.

strict enforcement of the law

stringent suggests severe, tight restriction or limitation.

stringent standards of admission

Examples of stringent in a Sentence

stringent rules against unauthorized persons being in the building
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Doti addresses this by enforcing real-time permissions at the source, providing granular access controls, and offering flexible deployment options, including on-premise setups for organizations with stringent compliance needs. Tony Bradley, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025 But California remains its own regulatory bastion; its stringent water quality rules remain in effect. Calmatters, The Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2025 Relief agencies accused Israel of overly restricting deliveries with stringent inspections and the closure of border crossings, which Israel denied, and have said that at least 200 trucks per day were required to provide food, medicines, fuel, clean water and other essentials. Hiba Yazbek, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025 Flora was used to Lorraine’s stringent disapproval and no longer tried to hide from it. Sheila Heti, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for stringent 

Word History

Etymology

Latin stringent-, stringens, present participle of stringere

First Known Use

1736, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stringent was in 1736

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Dictionary Entries Near stringent

Cite this Entry

“Stringent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stringent. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

stringent

adjective
strin·​gent ˈstrin-jənt How to pronounce stringent (audio)
1
: tying, drawing, or pressing tight
2
: strict in setting standards or following rules
stringent training
stringently adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on stringent

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