| English Dictionary |
OBSTINATE
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does obstinate mean?
• OBSTINATE (adjective)
The adjective OBSTINATE has 3 senses:
1. tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield
2. stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing
3. resistant to guidance or discipline
Familiarity information: OBSTINATE used as an adjective is uncommon.
• OBSTINATE (verb)
The verb OBSTINATE has 1 sense:
1. persist stubbornly
Familiarity information: OBSTINATE used as a verb is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield
Synonyms:
obstinate; stubborn; unregenerate
Similar:
bloody-minded; cantankerous (stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate)
bolshy; stroppy (obstreperous)
bullet-headed; bullheaded; pigheaded (obstinate and stupid)
dogged; dour; persistent; pertinacious; tenacious; unyielding (stubbornly unyielding)
contrarious; cross-grained (difficult to deal with)
determined (devoting full strength and concentrated attention to)
hardheaded; mulish (unreasonably rigid in the face of argument or entreaty or attack)
stiff-necked (haughtily stubborn)
strong-minded; strong-willed (having a determined will)
Also:
inflexible; sturdy; uncompromising (not making concessions)
disobedient (not obeying or complying with commands of those in authority)
intractable (not tractable; difficult to manage or mold)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing
Synonyms:
cussed; obdurate; obstinate; unrepentant
Similar:
unregenerate; unregenerated (not reformed morally or spiritually)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Resistant to guidance or discipline
Synonyms:
contrary; obstinate; perverse; wayward
Context example:
wayward behavior
Similar:
disobedient (not obeying or complying with commands of those in authority)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Persist stubbornly
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Context example:
he obstinates himself against all rational arguments
Hypernyms (to "obstinate" is one way to...):
hang in; hang on; hold on; persevere; persist (be persistent, refuse to stop)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
obstinance (resolute adherence to your own ideas or desires)
Context examples
"What's that?" Skiff Miller demanded, his brows lowering and an obstinate flush of blood reddening his forehead.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
You have no idea what obstinate hair mine is, Copperfield.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
We may, perhaps, succeed in restoring her to them, if she is not obstinate: but I trace lines of force in her face which make me sceptical of her tractability.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
She would not have been obstinate if I had not been weak.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
It was in vain to argue with him, for he was a very obstinate man.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
However, he was as eager now to consult the person named as he had been obstinate in refusing.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Alas! Life is obstinate and clings closest where it is most hated.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
"I do not believe discussion is good in such cases. It makes the patient obstinate."
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
“You were so very obstinate,” said he.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
To be always firm must be to be often obstinate.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, Wisdom is of the future." (Native American proverb, Lumbee)
"Good enough for Government work." (American proverb)
"He who has money and friends, turns his nose at justice." (Corsican proverb)