Stringent

How to spell stringent

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce stringent

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does stringent mean?

1. adjectiveStrict, precise, and demanding, especially of rules, standards, or controls.

Stringent in a sentence

• The airport introduced stringent security checks for all passengers.

• The laboratory follows stringent hygiene standards at every stage.

Where does stringent come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Stringent comes from the Latin stringentem, the present participle of stringere, a verb that literally meant 'to draw tight', 'to bind', or 'to press together'. The same root gave English a whole family of tightness words, including 'strict', 'constrain', 'restrict', and the medical term 'astringent' for something that makes tissue contract. English adopted stringent in the seventeenth century, at first in senses to do with binding or compressing, and it soon settled into its modern figurative meaning of rules and standards that are tight and severe. The image to hold onto is the original one of cords pulled taut: a stringent rule leaves no slack. Because the root is string-, not strin- or stringe-, the spelling keeps the full 'string' before the -ent ending, which is the main thing to remember.

How the word is built

• string- (from Latin stringere: to draw tight, bind)
• -ent (adjective suffix)