obstinate
Americanadjective
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firmly or stubbornly adhering to one's purpose, opinion, etc.; not yielding to argument, persuasion, or entreaty.
- Synonyms:
- pertinacious, refractory, inflexible, perverse, intractable, unbending, unyielding, obdurate, mulish
- Antonyms:
- tractable, submissive
-
characterized by inflexible persistence or an unyielding attitude; inflexibly persisted in or carried out.
obstinate advocacy of high tariffs.
-
not easily controlled or overcome.
the obstinate growth of weeds.
-
not yielding readily to treatment, as a disease.
adjective
-
adhering fixedly to a particular opinion, attitude, course of action, etc
-
self-willed or headstrong
-
difficult to subdue or alleviate; persistent
an obstinate fever
Related Words
See stubborn.
Other Word Forms
- obstinately adverb
- obstinateness noun
- superobstinate adjective
- superobstinately adverb
- superobstinateness noun
- unobstinate adjective
- unobstinately adverb
Etymology
Origin of obstinate
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin obstinātus (past participle of obstināre “to set one's mind on, be determined”), equivalent to ob- ob- + -stin-, combining form of stan- (derivative of stāre “to stand,” stand ) + -ātus -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Even with me, though, she could become rather obstinate from time to time, especially when it came to eating the food that I put in front of her.
From Literature
The girl you last saw was angry and obstinate with nowhere to put her rage.
From Literature
As an evocation of a remarkable figure, by turns obstinate and unexpectedly endearing, Longford’s book remains unsurpassed.
Her critical “confidence . . . is thrillingly anachronistic: obstinate, sure, but warming, too.”
While the central meaning of all this has yet to be revealed, Seehorn’s performance of Carol’s obstinate loneliness is wrenchingly genuine to anyone who has ever felt alone in a sea of smiling strangers.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
