stiff-necked

[stif-nekt]

adjective

having a stiff neck; having torticollis.

haughty and obstinate; refractory.

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 for stiff-necked

2. stubborn, obstinate, intractable, willful, pigheaded.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for stiffnecked

tough, harsh, flinty, hard-nosed, strict, rigid, grim, steely, tenacious, unshakable, single-minded, intractable, steadfast, willful, perverse, persistent, ornery, inflexible, determined, headstrong

Examples from the Web for stiffnecked

Historical Examples of stiffnecked

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.
New York Times, Current History, Vol 1, Issue 1
Various
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.
The Life, Letters and Work of Frederic Leighton
Mrs. Russell Barrington

British Dictionary definitions for stiffnecked

stiff-necked

adjective

haughtily stubborn or obstinate

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.