stubborn
顽固的,顽固,倔强,倔强的
Related Words
Definitions
- 1
- : unreasonably obstinate; obstinately unmoving: a stubborn child.
- : fixed or set in purpose or opinion; resolute: a stubborn opponent of foreign aid.
- : obstinately maintained, as a course of action: a stubborn resistance.
- : difficult to manage or suppress: a stubborn horse; a stubborn pain.
- : hard, tough, or stiff, as stone or wood; difficult to shape or work.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Where does stubborn come from?
The origin of stubborn is itself fittingly stubborn, or “unreasonably obstinate.” We might assume stubborn is connected to stub, a “short, projecting part or remaining piece” that is often immovable and unyielding. But that just doesn’t seem to be true.Stubborn is recorded around 1350–1400 and took such forms as stiborn, styborne, and stuborn. Beyond that, we just don’t really know. Thanks for nothing, stubborn.Stubborn isn’t alone: it finds lots of company in other English words that seem simple but whose origins are not. Discover more in our slideshow “‘Dog,’ ‘Boy,’ And Other Words That We Don’t Know Where They Came From.”
Examples
Like him, I’ve hit the so-called “pandemic wall,” a malaise characterized by a slump in productivity, a foggy mind, and in my case, a stubborn case of hives that various doctors I’ve consulted attribute to stress.
Grieving at the way her mother, stubborn and self-sufficient all her life, spent her last confusing, unhappy days.
Other features that might better prepare you for serious winters include a brush, the unconventional “magical” scraper design, an ergonomic scraper, a heated blade for stubborn ice, and even a built-in glove.
The large funnel end scrapes thin layers of ice off in a few simple motions, while the thinner, meat-hammer-resembling end does serious damage to stubborn ice buildup.
Yalow, born Rosalyn Sussman, described herself as a “stubborn, determined child” and an avid reader who developed an interest in math and chemistry.
Some would call him stubborn for holding out on payoffs from the oil companies.
Several stubborn ideas have steered much of the discourse around health care.
His stubborn efforts to fulfill his dream have yet to pay off, but he carefully lists all the near misses.
Most importantly, the biggest issue facing the country is our stubborn, stagnant unemployment.
“I was always defiant and stubborn in everything I did,” he said late in life.
This stubborn resistance lent all the more lustre to the piety of our benignant Rulers.
He would at once become stubborn and ugly, because he is not used to our quick, nervous, impatient ways.
Billy Woodchuck soon saw that Grandfather Mole was a stubborn old fellow.
For hours the issue hung in the balance, and at last even the stubborn Lefbvre began to think of retreat.
For I knew that thou art stubborn, and thy neck is as an iron sinew, and thy forehead as brass.