Synonyms of unbending

unbending 1 of 2

adjective

ˌən-ˈben-diŋ 

1

as in distant

having or showing a lack of friendliness or interest in others

the commanding officer's unbending reserve when dealing with subordinates

Synonyms & Similar Words

• distant
• detached
• cold
• cool
• aloof
• dry
• reserved
• withdrawn
• standoffish
• timid
• antisocial
• silent
• unsociable
• remote
• frosty
• clinical
• professional
• offish
• hard
• cold-eyed
• asocial
• shy
• buttoned-up
• standoff
• misanthropic
• unclubbable
• indifferent
• unsocial
• dispassionate
• reclusive
• recessive
• indrawn
• impersonal
• introverted
• unconcerned
• apathetic
• taciturn
• disinterested
• uninterested
• uncommunicative
• incurious
• diffident
• reticent
• cliquish
• nongregarious
• clubbish
• cliquey

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• social
• warm
• cordial
• friendly
• sociable
• outgoing
• gregarious
• expansive
• companionable
• convivial
• communicative
• extroverted
• talkative
• boon
• garrulous
• gracious
• hospitable
• genial
• affable
• amiable
• clubby
• congenial
• folksy
• agreeable
• clubbable
• kindly
• neighborly

2

as in stubborn

sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion

the school's new headmaster is reputed to be an unbending disciplinarian

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stubborn
• adamant
• steadfast
• hardened
• unyielding
• implacable
• obstinate
• uncompromising
• inflexible
• intransigent
• unrelenting
• obdurate
• immovable
• bullheaded
• mulish
• adamantine
• obsessive
• willful
• headstrong
• strict
• pertinacious
• hardheaded
• opinionated
• dogged
• hard
• ossified
• pigheaded
• perverse
• pat
• persistent
• determined
• hard-nosed
• relentless
• stiff-necked
• self-willed
• rigid
• iron
• stern
• unflinching
• inconvincible
• inexorable
• self-opinionated
• deaf to reason
• tenacious
• defiant
• severe
• resolved
• hard-line
• wayward
• wrongheaded
• hidebound
• firm
• single-minded
• contrary
• cantankerous
• narrow-minded
• uncooperative
• recalcitrant
• intractable
• disobedient
• contumacious
• indomitable
• hard-shell
• anal-retentive
• insubordinate
• refractory
• unconquerable
• mutinous
• unmanageable
• unruly
• bloody-minded
• invincible
• set
• exacting
• hell-bent
• demanding
• stouthearted
• insurgent
• ungovernable
• cussed
• inveterate
• confirmed
• froward
• unregenerate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flexible
• acquiescent
• compliant
• pliant
• complying
• pliable
• agreeable
• obedient
• amenable
• yielding
• submissive
• docile
• tractable
• willing
• responsive
• receptive
• accepting
• relenting
• reasonable
• placable
• manageable
• temperate
• slavish
• subservient
• persuadable
• governable

unbending

2 of 2

verb

present participle of unbend

as in straightening

to cause to follow a line that is without bends or curls

the new highway will largely unbend that twisting path that the old road used to follow

Synonyms & Similar Words

• straightening
• uncurling
• unkinking
• uncoiling
• unwinding
• unrolling
• untwisting
• untwining
• disentangling
• untangling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bending
• curving
• bending
• curling
• bowing
• rounding
• twisting
• turning
• arcing
• swirling
• hooking
• crooking
• winding
• twining
• spiraling
• looping
• coiling
• entwining
• kinking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of unbending

Adjective

In many parts of the developing world, China has come to be seen as a rapacious and unbending creditor, not so different from the Western multinational corporations and lenders that sought to collect on bad debts in decades past. — Michael Bennon, Foreign Affairs, 22 Aug. 2023

The result has been a most uncivil war, not fought over ideology, but over loyalty to the former president; not over public policy or economic solutions, but about who can serve as the most unbending conduit of the Republican base’s profound anger. — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 18 Feb. 2022

Verb

Without unbending her back, the mother arranges her mouth into a placid line. — Literary Hub, 15 Dec. 2025