Dictionary Definition
rigidity
Noun
1 the physical property of being stiff and
resisting bending [syn: rigidness]
2 the quality of being rigid and rigorously
severe [syn: inflexibility] [ant:
flexibility]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Noun
- The quality or state of being rigid; want of pliability; the quality of resisting change of form; the amount of resistance with which a body opposes change of form.
- Stiffness of appearance or manner; want of ease or elegance.
Antonyms
Translations
Stiffness of appearance or manner
- Finnish: jäykkyys
References
Extensive Definition
Generally, rigidity refers to inflexibility or
resistance to change. It has a number of specific meanings
depending on the field of application.
In medicine (neurology) rigidity describes
an increase in muscle tone, leading to a resistance to passive
movement throughout the range of motion.
In psychology, rigidity refers
to an obstacle to problem solving which arises from over-dependence
on prior experience, which makes it difficult for a person with
experience in a specific problem domain to recognize novel solution
strategies. This phenomenon is also known as a mental set. A
specific example is functional
fixedness, which is a difficulty conceiving new uses for
familiar objects.
In solid
mechanics, "rigidity" refers to the degree of deforming ability
of a solid material.
Modulus
of elasticity with moment of
inertia (E*I) is the numeric value of rigidity. According to
this expression, one can see only two criteria affect deformation, which are
geometry and the
material of an
object.
Rigidity is also known as the material property
of shear
modulus which is a measure of force per unit area needed to
change the shape of a material.
References
rigidity in French: Rigidité
rigidity in Serbian: Ригидност
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
abidingness, absoluteness, accuracy, adamantness, attention to
fact, care for truth, changelessness, concentration, constancy, correctness, delicacy, dourness, durability, durableness, duration, endurance, exactitude, exactness, faithfulness, faultlessness, fidelity, fineness, firmness, firmness of mind,
fixedness, flawlessness, flintiness, frozenness, fundamentalism, grimness, hard-bittenness,
hard-nosedness, hardening, hardness, immobility, immobilization, immovability, immovableness, immutability, implacability, impliability, inelasticity, inertia, inexorability, inextricability,
inflexibility,
intransigeance,
intransigence,
intransigency,
intransigentism,
invariability,
invariableness,
inveteracy, irreconcilability,
irremovability,
lastingness,
literalism, literality, literalness, long standing,
loyalty, mathematical
precision, meticulousness, niceness, nicety, obduracy, obdurateness, obstinacy, orthodoxy, perfection, permanence, permanency, perpetualness, persistence, persistency, preciseness, precisianism, precision, purism, puritanism, quiescence, refinement, relentlessness, renitence, renitency, right, rightness, rigidness, rigor, rigorism, rigorousness, settledness, severity, solidity, stability, standing, starchiness, stasis, staunchness, steadfastness, steadiness, steeliness, sternness, stiff temper,
stiffness, strictness, stubbornness, subtlety, tautness, tenseness, tension, tensity, textualism, the letter,
tightness, torpor, toughness, trueness, unalterability, unbendingness, unchangeability,
unchangingness,
uncompromisingness,
ungivingness,
unmovability,
unrelentingness,
unyieldingness,
vis inertiae