obstinate
adjective
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English has no shortage of words to describe stubbornness, and obstinate is one you might want to latch onto. It suggests an unreasonable persistence and is often used negatively to describe someone who is unwilling to change course or to give up a belief or plan. Animals can be obstinate, too—for instance, say, a beloved pet cat that refuses to get out of your easy chair when you want to sit down. Such an example makes a lot of sense with regard to obstinate’s history, too: the word traces back to a combination of the Latin prefix ob-, meaning “in the way,” and a word related to stare, meaning "to stand." But if you’re adamant about describing Whiskers’ stubborn behavior in more faunal terms, allow us to suggest bullheaded, dogged, or mulish.
Examples of obstinate in a Sentence
Matt Bai, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2001
With The New York Times calling Klein "a weak nominee" and editorializing that the administration should withdraw him, and with his opponents obstinate and apparently committed, he seemed for a moment to be in serious trouble.
—John Heilemann, Wired, November 2000
What did they know of life? All they knew was how to parrot the stock phrases of their profession and to continue to be obstinate until somebody, somewhere, paid up.
—Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, 1998
When my father finished telling the story, he looked at me, then looked away. A moment of silence lodged between us, an old and obstinate silence.
—Bernard Cooper, Harper's, August 1992
his obstinate refusal to obey
My parents remain as obstinate as ever.
Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 20 Mar. 2025
Still, this is a strong, young group with one large elephant in the room - who will play third base, the infinitely superior defender and more agreeable team player Bregman or the better hitter and more obstinate Rafael Devers?
—Tony Blengino, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025
Then there is the obstinate refusal to desalinate the ocean.
—Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 20 Jan. 2025
Then there’s the delight in seeing kangaroos dragged involuntarily to safety by their tails, obstinate goats slung over human shoulders, unexpectedly cuddly tapirs, sedated leopards, an ostrich chased into a rescue truck, etc.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for obstinate
Cite this Entry
“Obstinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obstinate. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.
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obstinate
adjective
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obstinate
adjective
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