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

PSG go into the tie at Anfield with a two-goal lead after winning convincingly in Paris last week but Slot was adamant the Reds can pull off what would be a comeback for the ages.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

Did he believe that adamant denials would allow him to brazen his way through?

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Traveling extensively with her archaeologist husband in Mesopotamia, Christie was adamant that “all I needed was a steady table and a typewriter.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

His decision to combine his Northern Ireland job with Blackburn Rovers was divisive among supporters and media, but he was adamant taking on the job would not impact the World Cup play-off.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

On the highest rampart of the fortress was a tower of adamant: just one flight of steps up to a set of rooms whose windows looked out north, south, east, and west.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

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