Obstinate

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈɒb.stɪ.nÉ™t/, /ˈɒb.stɪ.nɪt/
• US enPR: äb'stÉ™nÉ™t, IPA: /ˈɑb.stÉ™.nÉ™t/, /ˈɑb.stÉ™.nɪt/

Origin

From Latin obstinātus, past participle of obstinō ("set one's mind firmly upon, resolve"), from ob ("before") + *stinare, from stare ("to stand").

Full definition of obstinate

Adjective

1. Stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course, usually with implied unreasonableness; persistent.
• 1686, Michel de Montaigne, translated by , "That men are justly punished for being obstinate in the defence of a fort that is not in reason to be defended",From this consideration it is that we have derived the custom, in times of war, to punish ... those who are obstinate to defend a place that by the rules of war is not tenable ...
2. Said of inanimate things not easily subdued or removed.
• 1927, Gandhi, translated by , An Autobiography or The Story of my Experiments with Truth, Part IV, ,Now it happened that Kasturbai ... had again begun getting haemorrhage, and the malady seemed to be obstinate.

Synonyms

• (stubbonly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course) bloody-minded, persistent, stubborn, pertinacious
• (not easily subdued) persistent, unrelenting, inexorable

Derived terms

• obstinately
• obstinateness

Related terms

• obstinacy