Synonyms of obdurate

obdurate

adjective

ˈäb-də-rət 

1

as in ruthless

having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings

the obdurate refusal of the crotchety old man to let the neighborhood kids retrieve their stray ball from his backyard

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruthless
• merciless
• stony
• hard
• pitiless
• oppressive
• hard-hearted
• stern
• callous
• unsympathetic
• remorseless
• unmerciful
• abusive
• harsh
• heartless
• cruel
• unfeeling
• compassionless
• insensate
• inhuman
• indurate
• brutal
• tough
• insensitive
• malicious
• grim
• hateful
• soulless
• thick-skinned
• uncharitable
• inhumane
• vicious
• affectless
• unsparing
• take-no-prisoners
• case-hardened
• pachydermatous
• cold-blooded
• severe
• hard-boiled
• slash-and-burn
• savage
• desensitized
• ironhearted
• boorish
• unfriendly
• thoughtless
• uncaring
• heedless
• stonyhearted
• ungentle
• unthinking
• inconsiderate
• disagreeable
• spiteful
• mean
• rough
• malevolent
• virulent
• surly
• unloving
• acrimonious
• brutish
• cold
• ill-natured
• barbarous
• heavy-handed
• ironfisted
• hard-bitten
• rough-and-tumble
• jackbooted
• rancorous
• bestial
• ironhanded
• sledgehammer
• ill-tempered
• austere
• evil-minded
• frosty
• knock-down, drag-out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sympathetic
• warm
• sensitive
• merciful
• charitable
• compassionate
• humane
• kindly
• gentle
• benevolent
• kind
• mild
• tender
• lenient
• gracious
• softhearted
• kindhearted
• friendly
• indulgent
• benignant
• cordial
• warmhearted
• tenderhearted
• tolerant
• affectionate
• loving
• understanding
• good-natured
• clement
• fond
• good-tempered

2

as in stubborn

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

an obdurate farmer who could never be convinced to try a different method of fertilization

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonym Chooser

How is the word obdurate different from other adjectives like it?

The words adamant and inflexible are common synonyms of obdurate. While all three words mean "unwilling to alter a predetermined course or purpose," obdurate stresses hardness of heart and insensitivity to appeals for mercy or the influence of divine grace.

obdurate in his refusal to grant clemency

When can adamant be used instead of obdurate?

The words adamant and obdurate can be used in similar contexts, but adamant implies utter immovability in the face of all temptation or entreaty.

adamant that the work should continue

Where would inflexible be a reasonable alternative to obdurate?

While the synonyms inflexible and obdurate are close in meaning, inflexible implies rigid adherence or even slavish conformity to principle.

inflexible in their demands

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of obdurate

But Vučić has remained obdurate. — Hanna Begić, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025

Most of these initiatives met obdurate resistance from more powerful sectors of the state, and by the end of Khatami’s second term, in 2005, the reform movement had lost much of its momentum. — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2025

Ipswich proved obdurate and then generous opponents — Newcastle’s 78 per cent possession was the highest by any team in a Premier League match this season — and their relegation was confirmed by this 3-0 defeat. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025

Stalin’s apprenticeship in high-stakes diplomacy had shown him to be cunning but also opportunistic, avaricious, obdurate. — Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2017

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