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stiff-necked

[stif-nekt]
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adjective
  1. having a stiff neck; having torticollis.
  2. haughty and obstinate; refractory.
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Origin of stiff-necked

First recorded in 1520–30
Related formsstiff·neck·ed·ly [stif-nek-id-lee, -nekt-lee] /ˈstɪfˈnɛk ɪd li, -ˈnɛkt li/, adverbstiff·neck·ed·ness, noun

Synonyms

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2. stubborn, obstinate, intractable, willful, pigheaded.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stiffnecked

Historical Examples

  • You are a stiffnecked daughter, but my whip is pliant and will make you pliant too.

    Plays by August Strindberg, Third Series

    August Strindberg

  • He is stiffnecked, but hath no evil in his will, except that he resists me.

    A Pilgrim Maid

    Marion Ames Taggart

  • The Kaiser is stiffnecked because he does not believe you are going to fight this time.

  • So stiffnecked a man, so obstinate, so unclerical,—so determined to make much of little!

    Dr. Wortle's School

    Anthony Trollope

  • I hope you will not accuse me of being too stiffnecked; in other respects I am certainly docile.

British Dictionary definitions for stiffnecked

stiff-necked

adjective
  1. haughtily stubborn or obstinate
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for stiffnecked

adj.

1520s, from stiff (adj.), translating Latin dura cervice in Vulgate, from Greek sklero trachelos, a literal translation from Hebrew qesheh 'oref.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper