unyielding
Americanadjective
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unable to bend or be penetrated under pressure; hard.
The unyielding metal door resisted the intruder's attempts to force it open.
-
not apt to give way under pressure; inflexible; firm.
Despite her injuries, she maintained an unyielding determination to complete the marathon.
adjective
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not compliant, submissive, or flexible
his unyielding attitude
-
not pliable or soft
a firm and unyielding surface
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unyielding
Explanation
When things are unyielding, they won't stop, won't give, or won't bend. That includes stubborn, unyielding personalities and stiff, unyielding mattresses. You know people who never change their minds, even when they're wrong? You could say they're unyielding. This word refers to people who refuse to budge and never give up. Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes it's just plain annoying. Physical things can be unyielding if they're hard or impossible to stop. A hurricane or tornado is unyielding, and so is a speeding train. When you see the word unyielding, think "Can't or won't be stopped."
Vocabulary lists containing unyielding
Power Prefix: un-
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Bush's Address on 9/11
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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.
Unyielding forests, soggy fields, poor harvests and epidemics created a situation in which landowning gentlemen, desperate to maintain honor, could slip into debt, despair, sin, ruin.
From New York Times • May 21, 2010
"Unyielding devotion to the Constitution and to the guarantees of civil, political and religious liberty therein contained."
From Time Magazine Archive
Unyielding, Brown left it about the same, finally got around to reading it to the jury after dinner that night.
From Time Magazine Archive
Unyielding and undismayed he had gone down to death—she felt sure of that—amid the blinding snow.
From Masters of the Wheat-Lands by Bindloss, Harold
Unyielding firmness without harshness on your side, implicit obedience without fear on theirs is what Joanna aims at I believe," said Mrs. Danvers cheerfully, "and it certainly sounds a delightful method.
From The Rebellion of Margaret by Twidle, Arthur
Definitions 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.
