adamant

American  

[ad-uh-muhnt, -mant] / ˈæd ə mənt, -ˌmænt /

adjective

1. utterly unyielding in attitude or opinion in spite of all appeals, urgings, etc.

   Synonyms:

   uncompromising, rigid, inflexible

   Antonyms:

   yielding, easygoing, flexible

2. too hard to cut, break, or pierce.

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noun

1. any impenetrably or unyieldingly hard substance.

2. a legendary stone of impenetrable hardness, formerly sometimes identified with the diamond.

adamant British  

/ ˈædəmənt /

adjective

1. unshakable in purpose, determination, or opinion; unyielding

2. a less common word for adamantine

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noun

1. any extremely hard or apparently unbreakable substance

2. a legendary stone said to be impenetrable, often identified with the diamond or loadstone

Other Word Forms

• adamance
  noun
• adamancy
  noun
• adamantly
  adverb
• unadamant
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of adamant

First recorded before 900; Middle English, from Old French adamaunt, from Latin adamant- (stem of adamas ) “hard metal (perhaps steel), diamond,” from Greek, equivalent to a- a- ⁶ + -damant- verbal adjective of damân “to tame, conquer”; replacing Old English athamans (from Medieval Latin ) and Middle English aymont, from Middle French aimant, from unattested Vulgar Latin adimant-, from Latin

Explanation

If you stubbornly refuse to change your mind about something, you are adamant about it. This word's story begins in ancient Greece, where philosophers spoke about a legendary unbreakable stone or metal they called adamas (literally, "invincible"). In English, people began to use the word to refer to something that cannot be altered, and then in the twentieth century — after adamant had been in English for about a thousand years — it came to be used as an adjective to mean "unyielding as stone." If you're adamant about something, no amount of persuasion is going to convince you otherwise.

Example Sentences

In 2007, rumors of foreclosure against the estate began circulating, but Jackson’s team remained adamant that it was just a refinancing incident.

From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026

But polling showed voters were adamant: at 78, Mills literally represented the old guard and the party base wants to move on.

From Barron's • May 3, 2026

Kolasinski told The Times last month that his client is adamant he was fired on before he moved his car.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2026

Microsoft and OpenAI have been adamant that they remain extremely close, even as they have started to go their separate ways.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

His bosses, however, were adamant that the article amounted to a security breach.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Related Words

• determined
• insistent
• intransigent
• resolute
• rigid
• stubborn
• uncompromising