rigor mortisnoun [ U ]
uk/ˌrɪɡ.ə ˈmɔː.tɪs/us/ˌrɪɡ.ɚ ˈmɔːr.t̬ɪs/specializedthe stiffness of the joints (= places where two bones are connected) and muscles of a dead body:
Rigor mortis usually sets in between two and four hours after death.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Death and dying
- be pushing up (the) daisies idiom
- bereave
- bite
- bury
- buy the farm idiom
- depart
- done
- drop
- expire
- foot
- gone
- in extremis
- loss
- mortality
- peg
- posthumous
- road kill
- SIDS
- sudden infant death syndrome
- the disappeared
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