mulish
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mulish
Explanation
If someone calls you mulish, they don't mean that you look like a mule; they mean that you are as stubborn as a mule. Act more open-minded, and no one will call you mulish. You might know from the mulish expression on your sister's face that there's no way you can convince her to give you a ride to school, and a politician's mulish refusal to debate her opponent might end up hurting her on voting day. Mulish behavior is inflexible and opinionated. When you're mulish, you're as stubborn as the famously stubborn mule, an animal that's had this reputation since at least the fifteenth century.
Vocabulary lists containing mulish
Resistance is Futile: Synonyms for "Stubborn"
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The Nickel Boys
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Summer of the Mariposas
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Freud’s preoccupations no longer look eccentric or mulish.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2022
This grass-colored liqueur, with its bracing, vegetal taste and mulish kick, called Chartreuse after the Carthusian brothers of your order, is the closest thing you’ll ever experience to a magic potion.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 6, 2022
He paid a price for his mulish views.
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2021
“When you try to make me do something, I get real mulish and tend to go in the opposite direction,” said Rep. Mary Hooper, a Montpelier Democrat and opponent of the change.
From Washington Times ● May 12, 2015
“And so can I,” she said, getting that mulish look in her eyes Matt knew so well.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
