stiff-necked

stiff–necked

adjective

Definition of STIFF-NECKED

1

having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude <he was too stiff-necked to admit that “underlings” might have useful ideas>

Synonyms assumptive, bumptious, cavalier, chesty, haughty, highfalutin (also hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-handed, high-hat, huffish, huffy, imperious, important, lofty, lordly, masterful, overweening, peremptory, pompous, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, self-asserting, self-assertive, sniffy, stiff-necked, supercilious, superior, toplofty (also toploftical), uppish, uppity

Related Words authoritarian, bossy, dominant, dominating, domineering, magisterial, pontifical, pontificating; condescending, disdainful, patronizing; impertinent, impudent, saucy; snobbish, snobby, snooty; blusterous, blustery, boastful, bombastic, braggart, bragging, braggy, cocky, swaggering, vain, vainglorious; complacent, conceited, egocentric, egoistic (also egoistical), egotistic (or egotistical), hubristic, narcissistic, orgulous, prideful, proud, self-affected, self-applauding, self-centered, self-complacent, self-conceited, self-pleased, self-satisfied, smug, stuck-up; self-flattering, self-loving, self-promoting; brash, forward, uninhibited, unreserved; extroverted (also extraverted), immodest

Near Antonyms bashful, cowering, cringing, demure, diffident, introverted, mousy (or mousey), overmodest, self-critical, self-doubting, sheepish, shrinking, shy, subdued, timid; acquiescent, compliant, deferential, meek, passive, submissive, unaggressive, unassertive, unassuming, unobtrusive, yielding; quiet, reserved, retiring

Antonyms humble, lowly, modest, unarrogant, unpretentious

2

marked by or showing careful attention to set forms and details <her dinner parties are typically stiff-necked affairs, more to be endured than enjoyed>

Synonyms correct, decorous, formal, nice, proper, punctilious, starchy, stiff, stiff-necked, stilted

Related Words sober, solemn, stately; chivalrous, courtly, gallant; genteel, polished, refined; civil, courteous, polite, red-carpet

Near Antonyms improper, indecorous, unmannerly; discourteous, impolite, rude

Antonyms casual, easygoing, informal, laid-back, unceremonious

3

sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion <obviously uninterested in hearing any excuses, the stiff-necked officer handed me my speeding ticket with a flourish>

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, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding, willful (or wilful)

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

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

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