mulish

American  

[myoo-lish] / ˈmyu lɪʃ /

adjective

1. of or like a mule, as being very stubborn, obstinate, or intractable.

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mulish British  

/ ˈmjuːlɪʃ /

adjective

1. stubborn; obstinate; headstrong

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mulishness
  noun
• unmulish
  adjective
• mulishly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of mulish

First recorded in 1745–55; mule ¹ + -ish ¹

Explanation

If someone calls you mulish, they don't mean that you look like a mule; they mean that you are as stubborn as a mule. Act more open-minded, and no one will call you mulish. You might know from the mulish expression on your sister's face that there's no way you can convince her to give you a ride to school, and a politician's mulish refusal to debate her opponent might end up hurting her on voting day. Mulish behavior is inflexible and opinionated. When you're mulish, you're as stubborn as the famously stubborn mule, an animal that's had this reputation since at least the fifteenth century.

Example Sentences

This grass-colored liqueur, with its bracing, vegetal taste and mulish kick, called Chartreuse after the Carthusian brothers of your order, is the closest thing you’ll ever experience to a magic potion.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 6, 2022

And still fashion week keeps its mulish course, a carousel spinning madly.

From New York Times • Feb. 21, 2018

“When you try to make me do something, I get real mulish and tend to go in the opposite direction,” said Rep. Mary Hooper, a Montpelier Democrat and opponent of the change.

From Washington Times • May 12, 2015

By contrast, Ruby Thai Kitchen, with its mulish reliance on sweet, sad, suburban interpretations of Southeast Asian cooking, must be aware of its imminent extinction daily.

From Washington Post • Feb. 26, 2015

She developed a lofty sense of injustice and the mulish, reckless streak that develops in Someone Small who has been bullied all their lives by Someone Big.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy