as in persistence
a steadfast adherence to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion
between my brother's stubbornness and my own, it's amazing when we come to an agreement about anything
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Recent Examples of stubbornness
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
The Dilbert principle — traced back to a quote in a 1995 strip — posited that managers and higher-ups are actually successful morons whose stubbornness is confused for real leadership qualities.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026
That trickle-down stubbornness is the only reason San Francisco is still playing.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2026
What threads them is an insistence, maybe even a stubbornness, that shopping still belongs in the physical world.
—Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Jan. 2026
Collectively, there is less tolerance for stubbornness disguised as conviction, as this transit favors multidimensional thinking and open dialogue.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
David Oyelowo leans into Hampton’s confidence, stubbornness, and blind spots, anchoring a show that often drifts into dream logic.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 14 Dec. 2025
So if there is a refusal to use the word taxidermy and the word disenchantment is chosen instead, it is done out of stubbornness.
—Literary Hub, 11 Dec. 2025
Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 25 Jan. 2026
There is genius in Tomlin’s stubbornness.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
The Dilbert principle — traced back to a quote in a 1995 strip — posited that managers and higher-ups are actually successful morons whose stubbornness is confused for real leadership qualities.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026
That trickle-down stubbornness is the only reason San Francisco is still playing.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2026
What threads them is an insistence, maybe even a stubbornness, that shopping still belongs in the physical world.
—Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Jan. 2026
Collectively, there is less tolerance for stubbornness disguised as conviction, as this transit favors multidimensional thinking and open dialogue.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
David Oyelowo leans into Hampton’s confidence, stubbornness, and blind spots, anchoring a show that often drifts into dream logic.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 14 Dec. 2025
So if there is a refusal to use the word taxidermy and the word disenchantment is chosen instead, it is done out of stubbornness.
—Literary Hub, 11 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stubbornness
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
-
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 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
-
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
-
China has gained, not suffered, from this obduracy.—
JONATHAN A. CZIN,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Nov. 2025
-
Related: ‘Neglected diseases’ are anything but neglected by the billion-plus people living with them One possible reason for this obduracy is that noma begins as a dental disease, and dental diseases have long been underappreciated global health concerns.—
John Button,
STAT,
16 Dec. 2023
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
Noun
-
Yet even Smith’s dismissal doesn’t lead to the quick finale most are expecting, with Brydon Carse and Will Jacks showing the doggedness and determination that England have lacked so often in the series.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
21 Dec. 2025
-
Netflix's latest crime drama is resonant and relentless, offering audiences a sweaty, anxious look at doggedness and sacrifice in the face of a cruel, indifferent economy.—
Allison DeGrushe Published,
EW.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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
Cite this Entry
“Stubbornness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stubbornness. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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