unbending

[ uhn-ben-ding ]

See synonyms for unbending on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not bending or curving; inflexible; rigid.
refusing to yield or compromise; resolute.

austere or formal; aloof.

Origin of unbending

First recorded in 1545–55; un-¹ + bend¹ + -ing²

Other words from unbending

un·bend·ing·ly, adverb
un·bend·ing·ness, noun

Words Nearby unbending

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use unbending in a sentence

Koop, a man of the far right, was standing tall and unbending.
C. Everett Koop: Pioneering Surgeon General Spurred Reagan Response to AIDS | Kent Sepkowitz | February 26, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Ayalon himself told me in in October 2010 that zero-enrichment is an unbending Israeli red line.
Who is Bibi preempting – Obama or Iran? | Trita Parsi | August 15, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Now those positions are coming back to haunt him as Republican activists demand a candidate of unbending right-wing convictions.
Why Mitt Romney Can’t Win | Peter Beinart | September 6, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Washington, unbending in his role as the noblest republican of them all, administered a severe blow to imperial pride.
Washington in Victory | Piers Brendon | October 10, 2008 | THE DAILY BEAST
In his own opinion no better agent could have been found in the rle of a stern, unbending republican and fiery Jacobin.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison

There were no holidays in the term Joan had set for herself, no unbending, no relaxation from her books.
The Flockmaster of Poison Creek | George W. Ogden
He was unbending, hard, and lucid only when he spoke on some detail of business, or on some point of policy.
The Prime Minister | Anthony Trollope
Dumiger and Marguerite stood side by side, alarmed, but still unbending; and yet the man who spoke to them was of great power.
International Weekly Miscellany, Vol. 1, No. 2, July 8, 1850 | Various
As no one suffered inconvenience at his attitude, however, Shan Tien's expression assumed a more unbending cast.
Kai Lung's Golden Hours | Ernest Bramah

British Dictionary definitions for unbending

unbending

/ (ʌnˈbɛndɪŋ) /

adjective

rigid or inflexible
characterized by sternness or severity: an unbending rule

Derived forms of unbending

unbendingly, adverb
unbendingness, 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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