pigheaded
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pigheaded
First recorded in 1610–20; pig 1 + headed ( def. 3 )
Explanation
Someone who's extremely stubborn, refusing to change their mind even when it's in their best interest, is pigheaded. It's almost impossible to get a pigheaded person to listen to your advice. If your brother refuses to wear a winter coat on a freezing winter day, obstinately sticking to this decision even after he steps outside and starts shivering, he's pigheaded. While the original meaning of this adjective was, briefly, "having a head resembling a pig's," it's long been used to mean "stupidly stubborn." This figurative meaning comes from the reputation of pigs as being stubbornly willful.
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.
And perhaps most cruelly, this pigheaded hubris hurts the most vulnerable the most.
From Scientific American • Sep. 1, 2023
The team’s thick, almost spreadable toum cranks up the volume on the stinking rose, allowing its pungency and pigheaded perfume to accessorize a number of dishes.
From Washington Post • Feb. 13, 2023
Like I stumbled into the career that I have simply for being too pigheaded to accept “no” for an answer.
From The Verge • May 4, 2022
This is something I try to explain to any well-meaning person who asks about my mysterious, pigheaded, yearslong case of insomnia.
From New York Times • Mar. 1, 2017
“And don’t give me any pigheaded reasons why you can’t take it. Pride’s always been the great sin of our family.”
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
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.
