Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Hardened in wrongdoing or wickedness; stubbornly impenitent: "obdurate conscience of the old sinner” ( Sir Walter Scott).
- adj. Hardened against feeling; hardhearted: an obdurate miser.
- adj. Not giving in to persuasion; intractable. See Synonyms at inflexible.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To harden; confirm in resistance; make obdurate.
- Hardened, especially against moral influences; wickedly resisting.
- Hard-hearted; inexorable; unyielding; stubborn.
- Inflexible; stiff; harsh.
- Synonyms Obdurate, Callous, Hardened. These words all retain the original meaning of physical hardening, although it is obsolescent with obdurate. In the moral signification, the figure is most felt in the use of callous, which indicates sensibilities to right and wrong deadened by hard treatment, like callous flesh. Hardened is less definite, it being not always clear whether the person is viewed as made hard by circumstances or as having hardened himself against better influences and proper claims. Obdurate is the strongest, and implies most of determination and active resistance. See obstinate.
- Unbending, unsusceptible, insensible.
Wiktionary
- adj. Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent.
- adj. Physically hardened, toughened.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Hardened in feelings, esp. against moral or mollifying influences; unyielding; hard-hearted; stubbornly wicked.
- adj. Hard; harsh; rugged; rough; intractable.
- v. To harden.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing
- adj. showing unfeeling resistance to tender feelings
Etymologies
- Middle English obdurat, from Late Latin obdūrātus, past participle of obdūrāre, to harden, from Latin, to be hard, endure : ob-, intensive pref.; see ob- + dūrus, hard; see deru- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“Geithner plainly has no patience for what he describes as the obdurate unwillingness of colleagues to subordinate their desire for superficial impact to the larger vision.”
“He also defended his seizure of white-owned farms, saying the program pitted the majority against the white minority he described as obdurate and backed by the British.”
“In their valuation of the distribution of grace, theologians distinguish somewhat sharply between ordinary sinners (among whom they include habitual and relapsing sinners) and those sinners whose intellect is blinded, and whose heart is hardened, the so-called obdurate sinners (obcaecati et indurati, impaenitentes).”
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI
“He thrilled even now at the recollection of the Hadendowas leaping and stabbing through the breach of McNeil's zareba six miles from Suakin; he recalled the obdurate defence of the Berkshires, the steadiness of the Marines, the rallying of the broken troops.”
“You won't hear American announcers call an "obdurate defense," a terrific pass a "rapier thrust" or a tying goal the "equalizer.”
“She said the LRC was extremely proud of its achievements with the community that included a victory in the Constitutional Court, against "obdurate" opposition by government.”
“He also defended his seizure of white-owned farms, saying the program pitted the majority against an "obdurate" racial minority which he alleged was "supported and manipulated" by Blair.”
“George passed from life with the kind of obdurate resistance and strength of spirit with which he had lived.”
“Demonstrating the kind of obdurate thickness most commonly found in that foreign land known as Washington, Augusta County supervisors - five of them at least, the Gang of Six having been diminished by one - acted Wednesday in accordance with an inevitability predetermined by them.”
“' obdurate '' position was allowing Pakistan†™ s militaristic constituency to up the ante and build up a hostile atmosphere at the expense of its peace-seeking civil society, undermining US goals in Afghanistan.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘obdurate’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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SAT Words
But only the ones that I don't already know.
abase, abash, abominate, abstruse, acclivity, accolade, accost, adroit, adulate, adulterate, adumbrate, affray and 241 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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January 2012
bloviate, pastiche, apparat, facile, paroxysm, pique, bedfellow, pedigree, tutelage, protege, protégé, retroactive and 196 more...
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#faveword
Words chosen as favorites for the Twitter hashtag #faveword.
autumnal, grotto, chiaroscuro, sfumato, homunculus, zing, zest, effervescent, bewitch, avuncular, susurrus, Styrofoam and 205 more...
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If You Can't Say Anything Nice
Negative attributes or actions.
biased, cantankerous, caustic, contumacious, dilatory, disdain, duplicitous, fastidious, fractious, glower, haughty, imperious and 12 more...
darqueau Milton accents the U - obdúrate Jul 14, 2008
bilby I went to see a production of the Mikado at university ... with my Japanese girlfriend. That was an experience. Apr 18, 2008
reesetee Ah, frindley, such memories. As elementary-schoolers, we put on a production of The Mikado and thought it was the grandest thing ever. :-) Apr 18, 2008
frindley "And if you remain callous and obdurate, I
Shall perish as he did, and you will know why,
Though I probably shall not exclaim as I die,
'Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!'"
– from "On a tree by a river a little tom-tit"
(Sung by Ko-Ko in The Mikado) Apr 18, 2008
chained_bear Hardened in wrongdoing or sin; stubbornly impenitent; resistant or insensible to moral influence.
Usage: The number of obdurate papists and Italianate atheists is great at this time. (1572) Feb 3, 2007