obstinate

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ob·sti·nate

(ŏb′stə-nĭt)

adj.

a. Stubbornly adhering to an attitude, opinion, or course of action; obdurate.

b. Characterized by such adherence: an obstinate refusal.

2. Difficult to manage, control, or treat: an obstinate problem; an obstinate headache.

[Middle English obstinat, from Latin obstinātus, past participle of obstināre, to persist; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]

ob′sti·nate·ly adv.

ob′sti·nate·ness n.

Synonyms: stubborn , headstrong , recalcitrant , intractable , bullheaded , pigheaded , mulish
These adjectives mean tenaciously unwilling to yield. Obstinate implies unreasonable rigidity: "Mr. Quincy labored hard with the governor to obtain his assent, but he was obstinate" (Benjamin Franklin).
Stubborn pertains to innate, often perverse resoluteness or unyieldingness: "She was very stubborn when her mind was made up" (Samuel Butler).
One who is headstrong is obstinately bent on having his or her own way: The headstrong senator ignored his constituency. A person who is recalcitrant rebels against authority: The police arrested the recalcitrant protestors. Intractable refers to what is obstinate and difficult to manage or control: "the intractable ferocity of his captive" (Edgar Allan Poe).
Bullheaded suggests foolish or irrational obstinacy, and pigheaded, stupid obstinacy: Don't be bullheaded; see a doctor. "It's a pity pious folks are so apt to be pigheaded" (Harriet Beecher Stowe).
Mulish implies the obstinacy and intractability associated with a mule: "It is a mark of my own chalky insecurity and mulish youth that I hounded Andy every chance I got" (Brian Doyle).

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

obstinate

(ˈɒbstɪnɪt)

adj

1. adhering fixedly to a particular opinion, attitude, course of action, etc

2. self-willed or headstrong

3. difficult to subdue or alleviate; persistent: an obstinate fever.

[C14: from Latin obstinātus, past participle of obstināre to persist in, from ob- (intensive) + stin-, variant of stare to stand]

ˈobstinately adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ob•sti•nate

(ˈɒb stə nɪt)

adj.

1. firmly or stubbornly adhering to a purpose, opinion, or course of action.

2. not easily or readily treated, controlled, or overcome, as a disease.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin obstinātus, past participle of obstināre to set one's mind on, be determined =ob- ob- + stināre, derivative of stāre to stand]

ob′sti•nate•ly, adv.

ob′sti•nate•ness, n.

syn: See stubborn.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	obstinate - persist stubbornly; "he obstinates himself against all rational arguments" hang in, persevere, persist, hang on, hold on - be persistent, refuse to stop; "he persisted to call me every night"; "The child persisted and kept asking questions"
Adj.	1.	obstinate - tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield stubborn, unregenerate uncompromising, inflexible, sturdy - not making concessions; "took an uncompromising stance in the peace talks"; "uncompromising honesty" disobedient - not obeying or complying with commands of those in authority; "disobedient children" intractable - not tractable; difficult to manage or mold; "an intractable disposition"; "intractable pain"; "the most intractable issue of our era"; "intractable metal"
	2.	obstinate - stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing cussed, obdurate, unrepentant unregenerated, unregenerate - not reformed morally or spiritually; "unregenerate human nature"; "unregenerate conservatism"
	3.	obstinate - resistant to guidance or discipline; "Mary Mary quite contrary"; "an obstinate child with a violent temper"; "a perverse mood"; "wayward behavior" wayward, perverse, contrary disobedient - not obeying or complying with commands of those in authority; "disobedient children"

obstinate

adjective stubborn, dogged, determined, persistent, firm, perverse, intractable, inflexible, wilful, tenacious, recalcitrant, steadfast, unyielding, opinionated, intransigent, immovable, headstrong, unmanageable, cussed, strong-minded, unbending, obdurate, stiff-necked, unshakable, self-willed, refractory, pig-headed, bull-headed, mulish, contumacious, pertinacious He is obstinate and determined and will not give up.
flexible, wavering, manageable, undecided, obedient, compliant, amenable, submissive, docile, tractable, biddable, irresolute, complaisant

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

obstinate

adjective

1. Tenaciously unwilling to yield:

bullheaded, dogged, hardheaded, headstrong, mulish, pertinacious, perverse, pigheaded, stiff-necked, tenacious, willful.

2. Not submitting to discipline or control:

disorderly, fractious, indocile, intractable, lawless, obstreperous, recalcitrant, refractory, uncontrollable, undisciplined, ungovernable, unmanageable, unruly, untoward, wild.

Idiom: out of line.

3. Difficult to alleviate or cure:

persistent, pertinacious, stubborn.

Translations

عَنيدعَنِيدٌ

tvrdohlavýumíněný

stædig

eigensinnig hartnäckig obstinat stur

πεισματάρικος

obstinado

itsepäinen

obstiné opiniâtre têtu

tvrdoglav

csökönyöskonokmakacsönfejű

òrár

ostinato ostinazione

頑固な

완고한

ietiepīgsstūrgalvīgs

trmast

envis

ดื้อดึง

inatçı

ngoan cố

倔强的固执的

obstinate

[ˈɒbstɪnɪt] ADJ

1. (= stubborn) [person] → obstinado, terco
to be obstinate about sth → obstinarse en algo, ser obstinado con algo

2. (= tenacious) [resistance] → tenaz; [illness] → persistente

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

obstinate

[ˈɒbstɪnət] adj

[person] → obstiné(e)

[refusal, determination] → obstiné(e)

[weed, stain] → tenace

[pain, cold] → persistant(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

obstinate

adj

person → hartnäckig, starrsinnig; stain, weeds → hartnäckig; nail etc → widerspenstig; to remain obstinate → stur bleiben; to have an obstinate streak → zur Sturheit neigen; he was obstinate in insisting that … → er bestand stur or hartnäckig darauf, dass …

resistance, illness → hartnäckig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

obstinate

[ˈɒbstɪnɪt] adj (gen) → ostinato/a; (resistance) → strenuo/a; (illness) → persistente
as obstinate as a mule → testardo/a come un mulo

obstinate

(ˈobstinət) adjective

refusing to yield, obey etc. She won't change her mind – she's very obstinate.

ˈobstinacy (-nəsi) noun

ˈobstinately adverb

obstinate

→ عَنِيدٌ umíněný stædig hartnäckig πεισματάρικος obstinado itsepäinen obstiné tvrdoglav ostinato 頑固な 완고한 halsstarrig hardnakket uparty obstinado упрямый envis ดื้อดึง inatçı ngoan cố 倔强的

ob·sti·nate

a. obstinado-a,

pop. cabeza dura, cabeciduro-a.

References in classic literature ?

If a woman may ever be said to be in safety from the determined Perseverance of disagreeable Lovers and the cruel Persecutions of obstinate Fathers, surely it must be at such a time of Life.

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I recovered her with great difficulty from one of the most obstinate fainting-fits I ever remember to have met with.

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All Stoniton had heard of Dinah Morris, the young Methodist woman who had brought the obstinate criminal to confess, and there was as much eagerness to see her as to see the wretched Hetty.

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The Horse chose his earliest years and gave them his own attributes: hence every man is in his youth impetuous, headstrong, and obstinate in maintaining his own opinion.

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'Tell your wife, with my love,' she said, 'that I am the most obstinate woman of the two.

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The speaker's obstinate carriage, square coat, square legs, square shoulders, - nay, his very neckcloth, trained to take him by the throat with an unaccommodating grasp, like a stubborn fact, as it was, - all helped the emphasis.

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There's your law of precedents; there's your utility of traditions; there's the story of your obstinate survival of old beliefs never bottomed on the earth, and now not even hovering in the air!

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"Ah, well--" It was their old interminable argument as to the obstinate unwillingness of the "clever people" to frequent the fashionable, and both men knew that there was no use in prolonging it.

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"She is a terrible old woman!" remarked Tip, with a shudder at the thought of Mombi's black kettle; "and obstinate, too."

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Francine (as her straight chin proclaimed to all students of physiognomy) was an obstinate girl.

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But I was, as usual, too obstinate to own myself defeated.

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It is precisely the proudest and most obstinate men who are the most liable to shift their position and contradict themselves in this sudden manner; everything is easier to them than to face the simple fact that they have been thoroughly defeated, and must begin life anew.