stubborn

stub·born

adjective \ˈstə-bərn\

Definition of STUBBORN

1

a (1) : unreasonably or perversely unyielding : mulish (2) : justifiably unyielding : resolute

b : suggestive or typical of a strong stubborn nature <a stubborn jaw>

2

: performed or carried on in an unyielding, obstinate, or persistent manner <stubborn effort>

3

: difficult to handle, manage, or treat <a stubborn cold>

4

: lasting <stubborn facts>

— stub·born·ly adverb

— stub·born·ness \-bər(n)-nəs\ noun

Examples of STUBBORN

1. She's wrong, but she's too stubborn to admit it.
2. I admire his stubborn refusal to quit.
3. trying to treat a stubborn infection
4. Louise was not the first to posit the idea of a miniature horse ancestral to the Arab; but she was the only one stubborn enough to prove it. —Jason Elliot, Mirrors of the Unseen, 2006
5. To remove stubborn price tags from items like dishes and glassware, I use a cotton pad or Q-tip soaked with rubbing alcohol. The alcohol dissolves the sticky glue and doesn't mess up my manicure. —Kathe Palmucci, Real Simple, April 2003
6. In the search for strategies to deal with the stubborn and deadly problem of driving under the influence, many cops are turning to an unusual tactic: Recruiting volunteer drinkers and drug users to teach officers to recognize impaired drivers. —Russell Gold, Wall Street Journal, 29 Oct. 2002

Origin of STUBBORN

Middle English stibourne, stuborn

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to STUBBORN

Synonyms

adamant, adamantine, bullheaded, dogged, hard, hardened, hardheaded, hard-nosed, headstrong, immovable, implacable, inconvincible, inflexible, intransigent, mulish, obdurate, opinionated, ossified, pat, pertinacious, perverse, pigheaded, self-opinionated, self-willed, stiff-necked, obstinate, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding, willful (or wilful)

Antonyms

acquiescent, agreeable, amenable, compliant, complying, flexible, pliable, pliant, relenting, yielding

Related Words

anal-retentive, obsessive; wayward, wrongheaded; determined, hell-bent, inexorable, persistent, relentless, resolved, set, single-minded, steadfast, stouthearted, tenacious, unflinching; firm, hard-line, hard-shell (or hard-shelled), iron, severe, stern, strict; hidebound, narrow-minded, rigid; bloody-minded [chiefly British], cantankerous; contrary, cussed; contumacious, disobedient, froward, insubordinate, intractable, recalcitrant, refractory, uncooperative, ungovernable, unmanageable, unruly; defiant, insurgent, mutinous; indomitable, invincible, unconquerable; confirmed, inveterate, unregenerate; demanding, exacting

Near Antonyms

docile, obedient, placable, submissive, tractable; accepting, persuadable, receptive, responsive, willing; governable, manageable, reasonable, temperate; slavish, subservient

See Synonym Discussion at obstinate