Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Stubbornly adhering to an attitude, opinion, or course of action; obdurate.
- adj. Difficult to manage, control, or subdue; refractory.
- adj. Difficult to alleviate or cure: an obstinate headache.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Pertinaciously adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course of action; not yielding to argument, persuasion, or entreaty; headstrong.
- Springing from or indicating obstinacy.
- Not easily controlled or removed; unyielding to treatment: as, an obstinate cough; an obstinate headache.
- Synonyms Obstinate, Stubborn, Intractable, Refractory, Contumacious, pertinacious, headstrong, unyielding, dogged, wilful, persistent, immovable, inflexible, firm, resolute. The first five words now imply a strong and vicious or disobedient refusal to yield, a resolute or unmanageable standing upon one's own will. Stubborn is strictly negative: a stubborn child will not listen to advice or commands, but perhaps has no definite purpose of his own. Obstinate is active: the obstinate man will carry out his intention in spite of advice, remonstrance, appeals, or force. The last three of the italicized words imply disobedience to proper authority. Intractable, literally not to be drawn, handled, or governed, is negative; so is refractory: both suggest sullenness or perverseness; refractory is more appropriate where resistance is physical: hence the extension of the word to apply to metals. Contumacious combines pride, haughtiness, or insolence with disobedience; in law it means wilfully disobedient to the orders of a court.
Wiktionary
- adj. Stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course, usually with implied unreasonableness; persistent.
- adj. Said of inanimate things not easily subdued or removed.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Pertinaciously adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course; persistent; not yielding to reason, arguments, or other means; stubborn; pertinacious; -- usually implying unreasonableness.
- adj. Not yielding; not easily subdued or removed
WordNet 3.0
- adj. resistant to guidance or discipline
- adj. stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing
- v. persist stubbornly
- adj. tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield
Etymologies
- From Latin obstinātus, past participle of obstinō ("set one's mind firmly upon, resolve"), from ob ("before") + *stinare, from stare ("to stand"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English obstinat, from Latin obstinātus, past participle of obstināre, to persist; see stā- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Beth had been lying back against the seat for an hour or more with her eyes closed, having complained of a headache after quarreling with him again over what she termed his obstinate refusal to be conciliating with Richmond.”
“Pained at what he called the obstinate infatuation of Miss Beaufort, and if possible more chagrined by what he considered the blind and absurd encouragement of his aunt, Mr. Somerset lost the whole of her last reprimand in his hurry to quit the room.”
“I'm sure he'll remain obstinate and continue to promote abortion.”
“With Republicans being just plain obstinate and irresponsible and now many Democrats following a similar path just to make sure their jobs are intact next election there doesn't appear to be much hope for anything meaningful.”
“His long upper lip went down in obstinate resistance to impulse.”
“Accordingly she called the obstinate and sulky Pauline before her.”
“So obstinate is she that God has to "allure her," that is, so to temper judgment with unlooked-for grace as to win her to His ways.”
“I heard myself called obstinate and wilful, only because I believed myself in the right, and persisted in it.”
“Note, Though it is God's gracious method to bear long with sinners, yet he will not bear always; at length he will come, and will not spare those who remain obstinate and impenitent, notwithstanding all his methods to reclaim and reform them.”
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume VI (Acts to Revelation)
“Numidia, the strong inland city of Corta still persisted in obstinate independence.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘obstinate’.
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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 4087 more...
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hunting
crudely, unequivocal, obsolete, obscure, overtly, misdeed, shack, inherent, outcry, hefty, composed, poised and 319 more...
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Dominant/Submissive
abusive, adamant, autocratic, bossy, bullheaded, bumptious, certain, cock-a-hoop, cocksure, cocky, commanding, compelling and 189 more...
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7thGradeWords
horde, doggedly, retina, frail, jovial, insidious, injudicious, brazen, tentative, hortle, adaver, benign and 91 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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unyielding
refractory, unmanageable, ungovernable, obstinate, contumacious, stubborn, unyielding, unruly, perverse, refractoriness, inanimates, contrary and 12 more...
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common/uncommon GRE
Combination some common, some uncommon preparation of GRE words.
thwart, schmooze, siren, ebullient, eclectic, efficacy, adorn, felicitous, grandiloquent, eloquence, epitomize, vilify and 10 more...
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People are Scum
words that one may enjoy using to describe other people or their actions
degenerate, reprobate, scapegrace, capricious, sycophant, arbitrary, infernal, abominable, iniquitous, nefarious, philistine, sadistic and 39 more...
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Verbal_Advantage
paraphrase, ostensible, digress, uncanny, candor, morose, adept, saturated, pragmatic, congenial, capricious, blatant and 38 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 22 more...
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Victorious Verbs
exudate, agglutinate, permeate, penetrate, attenuate, aggregate, emaciate, concatenate, exonerate, castigate, promulgate, obstinate and 2 more...
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Words
My list of words.
veritable, facetious, nadir, quixotic, apropos, acquiesce, ostensible, insipid, egregious, inveterate, coax, adroit and 409 more...
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GRE Words
abjure, unswear, state, rescission, indemnification, ab, reny, abnegate, vitiated, vitiate, adumbrated, abash and 378 more...
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Daily encountered words
Words encountered on daily basis while reading blogs,newspapers,magazines and books.
Euphemism, penny-pinching, thrift, frugal, fanciful, convoluted, copious, bogus, corroborate, debunk, diffident, exacting and 63 more...
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Faves
nepenthe, cupidity, anodyne, obdurate, doleful, obsolescent, quale, piquant, velleity, inchoate, disport, facile and 366 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for obstinate.
hramezani معاند
کله شق Dec 5, 2012
hernesheir The name of the one was Obstinate and the name of the other Pliable.
John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress Sep 19, 2009