dogged

¹

[daw-gid, dog-id]

adjective

1. persistent in effort; stubbornly tenacious.

   a dogged worker.

   Synonyms: unyielding, inflexible, mulish, persistent

dogged

²

[dawgd, dogd]

adjective

Southern U.S.

1. doggoned; damned; confounded.

   Well, I'll be dogged!

dogged

/ ˈdɒɡɪd /

adjective

1. obstinately determined; wilful or tenacious

Other Word Forms

• doggedly adverb
• doggedness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dogged¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English: “having characteristics of a dog”; dog, -ed ³

Synonym Study

See stubborn.

Example Sentences

After roughly five minutes of dogged competition between a pair of telephone bidders, it sold for $54.7 million.

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This exhaustively researched and finely detailed book covers its subject’s marathon travels around the world, his outlandish business ventures and his dogged pursuit of literary celebrity.

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She has brought on top executives from competitor banks, sold some of its banking franchises in foreign markets and sought to turn the page on regulatory problems that have dogged the bank for years.

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The challenge is to prevent Argentina from falling into a pattern that has dogged Latin America’s third-biggest economy for decades.

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Allegations of corruption in public works and gross nepotism have dogged her government.

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Related Words

• hard-nosed 
• indefatigable 
• relentless 
• resolute 
• single-minded 
• staunch 
• steadfast 
• stubborn 
• tenacious 
• unflagging 
• unshakable 
• unyielding