stubborn

The origin of stubborn is itself fittingly stubborn, or “unreasonably obstinate.” We might assume stubborn is connected to stub, a “short, projecting part or remaining piece” that is often immovable and unyielding. But that just doesn’t seem to be true.

Stubborn is recorded around 1350–1400 and took such forms as stiborn(e), styborne, and stuborn. Beyond that, we just don’t really know. Thanks for nothing, stubborn.

Stubborn isn’t alone: it finds lots of company in other English words that seem simple but whose origins are not. Discover more in our slideshow “‘Dog,’ ‘Boy,’ And Other Words That We Don’t Know Where They Came From.”

Some words that are very similar to stubborn include obstinate, dogged, and persistent.

Looking for other synonyms for stubborn? Head on over to Thesaurus.com for loads more. 

We usually consider stubbornness to be a bad quality of a close-minded person acting in some unreasonable way (such as a stubborn child) or refusing to change their mind (e.g., stubborn holdout). Stubborn is also used to describe inanimate things that refuse to budge or cooperate, as in a stubborn nail or stubborn belief.

The expression stubborn as a mule is used to describe an especially unwavering or uncooperative instance of stubbornness. The simile evokes the proverbial stubbornness of mules, who were once commonly used as draft animals.