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
• unadamant
  adjective
• adamantly
  adverb

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

Despite the backlash to Scotland's group-stage performance, Clarke is adamant he had a "brilliant" World Cup experience.

From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026

Warsh has also been adamant about reducing Fed communications, and has promised a thorough review encompassing speeches, press conferences, the so-called dot plot of inflation forecasts, and even policy meeting transcripts and minutes.

From Barron's • Jun. 29, 2026

The president remains adamant that Iran can’t have a pathway to a nuclear bomb, but much will depend on nuclear negotiations that are expected to begin soon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026

“One thing that we’ve really been adamant about is getting the schemes that the coaches put us in and adhering to those schemes,” Nneka Ogwumike said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Most boys his age still sleep on the pile of their families, but 'Taniel was adamant: “My brothers have beds to themselves!”

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

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