stiff-necked
Americanadjective
-
having a stiff neck; having torticollis.
-
haughty and obstinate; refractory.
- Synonyms:
- pigheaded, willful, intractable, obstinate, stubborn
adjective
Other Word Forms
- stiffneckedly adverb
- stiffneckedness noun
Etymology
Origin of stiff-necked
First recorded in 1520–30
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.
Watson is in a perpetual state of stiff-necked choler tinged with snobbery — “I am better educated, more wealthy and stronger than you are,” he tells Bea, who is unmoved.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2021
"I would argue that both governments have been excessively stiff-necked," Bunn says.
From Science Magazine • Aug. 31, 2017
But America has a proud history of stiff-necked heroes.
From Washington Post • Jan. 9, 2017
The people I grew up with were the descendants of stiff-necked troublemakers from County Mayo or the Abruzzi, men who never bowed to royalty — peasants to everyone but themselves.
From New York Times • Jul. 14, 2014
“If your stiff-necked lord commander will allow it. Did your fires show you where to find this girl?”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
