doggedness

American  

[daw-gid-nis, dog-id-] / ˈdɔ gɪd nɪs, ˈdɒg ɪd- /

noun

1. persistence in effort; tenacity or perseverance.

   It was the team captain’s doggedness and never-say-die approach that helped us qualify for the Olympics.

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Etymology

Origin of doggedness

dogged ¹ ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Explanation

Doggedness is a quality of being stubborn and persistent, like the doggedness of a skateboarder attempting a new trick over and over again until they get it just right. When this word was first used in the 14th century, it meant "with the qualities of a dog," but not in a good way — to be dogged was to act nasty or surly, and doggedness was a quality of cruelty, like a really mean dog might have. Both words evolved over the years and now imply persistence and tenacity, like a dog digging determinedly for a bone it has buried in the yard.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

doggedness

His doggedness would be almost admirable, if “We Will Dance Again” wasn’t so lazy.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

Surrey were grateful for Sibley who dug in with a doggedness that Warwickshire supporters know well from watching him pass 50 on 16 occasions at Edgbaston.

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026

By the time he arrived at the now-defunct Sacramento Union in 1970 as the newspaper’s chief investigative reporter, he had gained a reputation for doggedness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2025

Those numbers could be gathered in any number of means, each of which was in its own way a test of your resourcefulness, doggedness and the trust you’d earned.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 3, 2023

Or imagine a country where Renee’s doggedness is not the exception, but a cultural trait, embedded as deeply as the culture of honor in the Cumberland Plateau.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell