stiff-necked
Americanadjective
-
having a stiff neck; having torticollis.
-
haughty and obstinate; refractory.
- Synonyms:
- pigheaded, willful, intractable, obstinate, stubborn
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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
Mattie was an especially hard role, requiring an inexperienced actress to convey her "very adult, very self-possessed, very stiff-necked Protestant sensibility," Ethan Coen said.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 24, 2010
Harry got out too, and after a minute or so, Ron seemed to regain the feeling in his limbs and followed, still stiff-necked and staring.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
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.
