adamant
[ ad-uh-muhnt, -mant ]
/ ˈæd ə mənt, -ˌmænt /
adjective
utterly unyielding in attitude or opinion in spite of all appeals, urgings, etc.
too hard to cut, break, or pierce.
noun
any impenetrably or unyieldingly hard substance.
a legendary stone of impenetrable hardness, formerly sometimes identified with the diamond.
RELATED WORDS
uncompromising, stubborn, resolute, determined, intransigent, insistent, rigid, firm, immovable, set, pat, stiff, tough, fixed, hard-nosed, inexorable, inflexible, obdurate, relentless, unbending
Nearby words
- adam's-needle,
- adam, adolphe charles,
- adam, james,
- adam-and-eve,
- adama,
- adamantane,
- adamantine,
- adamantine membrane,
- adamantinoma,
- adamantly
Origin of adamant
before 900; Middle English < Old French adamaunt < Latin adamant- (stem of adamas) hard metal (perhaps steel), diamond < Greek, equivalent to a- a-6 + -damant- verbal adjective of damân to tame, conquer; replacing Old English athamans (< Medieval Latin) and Middle English aymont < Middle French aimant < Vulgar Latin *adimant- < Latin
SYNONYMS FOR adamant
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for adamant
adamant
/ (ˈædəmənt) /
adjective
unshakable in purpose, determination, or opinion; unyielding
a less common word for adamantine (def. 1)
noun
any extremely hard or apparently unbreakable substance
a legendary stone said to be impenetrable, often identified with the diamond or loadstone
Word Origin for adamant
Old English: from Latin adamant-, stem of adamas, from Greek; literal meaning perhaps: unconquerable, from a- 1 + daman to tame, conquer
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