stubborn
unreasonably obstinate; obstinately unmoving: a stubborn child.
fixed or set in purpose or opinion; resolute: a stubborn opponent of foreign aid.
obstinately maintained, as a course of action: a stubborn resistance.
difficult to manage or suppress: a stubborn horse; a stubborn pain.
hard, tough, or stiff, as stone or wood; difficult to shape or work.
Origin of stubborn
1synonym study For stubborn
Other words for stubborn
Opposites for stubborn
Other words from stubborn
- stub·born·ly, adverb
- stub·born·ness, noun
- pre·stub·born, adjective
- un·stub·born, adjective
- un·stub·born·ly, adverb
- un·stub·born·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use stubborn in a sentence
After more than 70 years of intransigence, one of the most stubborn numbers in math has finally budged.
Disorder Persists in Larger Graphs, New Math Proof Finds | Kevin Hartnett | November 4, 2020 | Quanta MagazineYou also can remove the open ones and give the stubborn ones a final blast of steam.
Mussels are simple to prepare, and add tasty drama to the table | Martha Holmberg | October 29, 2020 | Washington PostThat means the board has the power to overrule even Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has a history of taking stubborn stances in the name of protecting free expression.
Facebook’s independent oversight board is finally up and running | Shirin Ghaffary | October 22, 2020 | VoxJohnson responded on Friday by accusing the EU of being stubborn, saying it has “refused to negotiate seriously for much of the last few months.”
The EU and the UK still haven’t reached a post-Brexit agreement. What’s next? | Jen Kirby | October 16, 2020 | VoxSo if there’s something I don’t understand, I’m extremely stubborn when it comes to figuring out the answer.
This year’s SN 10 scientists aim to solve some of science’s biggest challenges | Science News Staff | September 30, 2020 | Science News
But what both men had in common was a streak of rugged individualism, stubbornness, and personal vision.
“The Ladies Who Lunch,” an ode to jaded Manhattanites, stubbornness, and vodka stingers, became one of her two signature songs.
Here he finds the ground prepared for the anti-semitic attack on rigidity, stubbornness, inflexibility as Jewish qualities.
He saw no virtue in stubbornness, and he could never have taken pleasure in the refusal to act on something.
Washington Is Sorely Missing the Legislative Genius of Howard Baker | James Andrew Miller | June 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWith his trademark stubbornness, Bernhard rewrites history to suit his story.
Had that ugliness and stubbornness been taken out of your heart, you would have been spared much suffering.
The value of a praying mother | Isabel C. Byrum"You are all that I would have you," she answered him, and in his mind he almost cursed her stubbornness, her want of reason.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniJust this morning, however, the fact of Cash's stubbornness in keeping to his own side of the line irritated Bud.
Cabin Fever | B. M. BowerAfter her first startled glance toward Bristow she stood with her head lowered and with an expression of sulky stubbornness.
The Winning Clue | James Hay, Jr.Only a few of the people who use this expression can have had any experience of the stubbornness of mules.
Stories That Words Tell Us | Elizabeth O'Neill
British Dictionary definitions for stubborn
/ (ˈstʌbən) /
refusing to comply, agree, or give in; obstinate
difficult to handle, treat, or overcome
persistent and dogged: a stubborn crusade
Origin of stubborn
1Derived forms of stubborn
- stubbornly, adverb
- stubbornness, noun
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
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