as in persistence
a steadfast adherence to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion
regardless of the issue, she holds onto her position with an obstinateness that would exhaust the patience of a saint
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obstinateness
Noun
-
Rye and apple brandy are fast friends—the apple brandy adding an autumnal echo to rye’s grainy persistence.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
24 Jan. 2026 -
Passion and persistence powered the effort.—
Gary Drenik,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Her third album, Vacancy, documents this sense of resolve.—
Vrinda Jagota,
Pitchfork,
29 Jan. 2026
-
What Lee did not anticipate was the iron resolve, the ferocious tenacity, of the Union defenders.—
Jamelle Bouie,
Mercury News,
29 Jan. 2026
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
Noun
-
The natural obstinacy and rebelliousness of Israa’s teenage years are hyperaccelerated by culture clashes with both her family and the other kids around her.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2026
-
The White House does not seem to have a workaround to Putin’s obstinacy, and Rubio told Hannity that all other parties seeking to end the conflict are hopeless.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The shadow of this Full Moon is reacting from pride or stubbornness instead of vulnerability.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
25 Jan. 2026
-
There is genius in Tomlin’s stubbornness.—
Jerry Brewer,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Her remarks appear to be a preview of the board's ultimate determination regarding the 2025 crash.—
Adam Carlson,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The gifts skiing has given me—not just the joy, but the appreciation for wilderness, the determination and grit and feeling of accomplishment, the ability to talk to random strangers on chairlifts—as a parent, these are as important to instill in her as curiosity and kindness.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In fact, that summit seemed initially to have backfired for Russia, with Trump growing increasingly frustrated with Moscow’s intransigence.—
Clare Sebastian,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
-
But the Islamic Republic is ultimately to blame for calls for regime change, given its decades-long intransigence to demands for reform, its crackdown on dissidents, and its woeful economic mismanagement and corruption.—
Nahid Siamdoust,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The orphan’s predicament is as much a matter of willfulness as of survival—inseparable, as in the works of Charles Dickens, from a dream of being somehow rescued by the idea of an adult world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Nov. 2025
-
While this change reduces the explicit admission of willfulness, a narrative is still required.—
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Obstinateness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obstinateness. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
