hardheadedness

noun

1
as in persistence
a steadfast adherence to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion her unrelenting hardheadedness didn't win many friends, but it helped her to get her way most of the time

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intelligence
exceptional discernment and judgment especially in practical matters the hardheadedness of a bean counter

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardheadedness
  1. persistence
  2. intelligence
  3. stubbornness
  4. wit
  5. persistency
  6. wisdom
  7. intransigence
  8. shrewdness
Noun
  • There’s something so beguiling about the obvious irony of the title, the perplexing insistence of the narrator, and the comic persistence of the ghost.
    — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 7 July 2026
  • Maintaining that level of persistence consistently across thousands of leads is operationally difficult for most human teams.
    — Chao-Ping Wu, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of persistence
Noun
  • Bobbi Queen, a former senior fashion editor at WWD who was known for her intelligence, wit and sense of style, died Thursday at her New York apartment at the age of 84.
    — Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 6 July 2026
  • Autonomy with human oversight Artificial intelligence handles much of CobraJet’s flight through an autonomous autopilot supported by electro-optical and infrared cameras.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 6 July 2026
Definition of intelligence
Noun
  • That iron will could track toward stubbornness and the basketball obsession could turn into tunnel vision.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 8 July 2026
  • Archie’s stubbornness is a reflex to his worldview being attacked without first acknowledging his experience.
    — Alex Rosado, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 June 2026
Definition of stubbornness
Noun
  • With wit and élan Amitav Ghosh explores India’s own reincarnation as a democracy, brilliant societies emerging from tangled layers of the postcolonial era.
    — Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026
  • Armed with endless grit and razor-sharp wit, Esperanza is the backbone of the agency and the steady force keeping both Myron and clients in check.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 6 July 2026
Definition of wit
Noun
  • The Home Service Insurance segment experienced a decline in premiums, attributed to strategic actions to improve sales quality and persistency, as well as economic pressures such as inflation.
    — Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The tannins are well structured yet soft and the wine has great persistency in the finish.
    — Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 2 May 2023
Definition of persistency
Noun
  • An astonishing wealth of information and wisdom has been bequeathed to us.
    — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • Your experiences and words of wisdom will be shared in installments of the newsletter.
    — Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, Washington Post, 8 July 2026
Definition of wisdom
Noun
  • Fatigue with the stagnation inherent in contemporary democratic institutions is among the key factors that make the promise to break through intransigence by autocratic leaders attractive to a plurality of voters.
    — Wendell Wallach, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026
  • Instead, the courts are dealing with intransigence from the city.
    — The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
Definition of intransigence
Noun
  • Instead, Franklin will rise by virtue of hard work and (actual) shrewdness.
    — John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026
  • Humble but strong, philosophical but pragmatic, Kingsley's interpretation of the leader manages to balance both his spirituality and shrewdness, simultaneously demystifying an icon while also adding another layer to the legend.
    — Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Mar. 2026
Definition of shrewdness
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

hardheaded
hardheadedness
hardheads
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hardheadedness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardheadedness. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of xeric

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All