Stubborn Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Kids Definition of stubborn · 1 : refusing to change an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or urging She's too stubborn to ask for help. · 2 : ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut stubborn adjective SaveWord stub·​born |\ˈstə-bərn \ EssentialMeaningofstubborn 1 :refusingtochangeyourideasortostopdoingsomething She'swrong,butshe'stoostubborntoadmitit.Iadmirehisstubbornrefusaltoquit.SeeMoreExamplesShehasastubbornstreak.[=sheisoftenstubborn]He's(as)stubbornasamule.[=he'svery/extremelystubborn]Hide 2 :difficulttodealwith,remove,etc. stubbornhairtryingtotreatastubborninfectionastubbornstain FullDefinitionofstubborn 1a(1) :unreasonablyorperverselyunyielding:mulish (2) :justifiablyunyielding:resolute b :suggestiveortypicalofastrongstubbornnature astubbornjaw 2 :performedorcarriedoninanunyielding,obstinate,orpersistentmanner stubborneffort 3 :difficulttohandle,manage,ortreat astubborncold 4 :lasting stubbornfacts OtherWordsfromstubborn Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym StubbornasaMule(OrSomeOtherAnimal) MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutstubborn OtherWordsfromstubborn stubbornly adverb stubbornness \ ˈstə-​bər(n)-​nəs \ noun Synonyms&Antonymsforstubborn Synonyms adamant, adamantine, bullheaded, dogged, hard, hard-nosed, hardened, hardheaded, headstrong, immovable, implacable, inconvincible, inflexible, intransigent, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, ossified, pat, pertinacious, perverse, pigheaded, self-opinionated, self-willed, stiff-necked, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding, willful (orwilful) Antonyms acquiescent, agreeable, amenable, compliant, complying, flexible, pliable, pliant, relenting, yielding VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforstubborn obstinate,dogged,stubborn,pertinacious,mulishmeanfixedandunyieldingincourseorpurpose.obstinateimpliesusuallyanunreasonablepersistence. anobstinateproponentofconspiracytheories doggedsuggestsanadmirableoftentenaciousandunwaveringpersistence. pursuedthestorywithdoggedperseverance stubbornimpliessturdinessinresistingchangewhichmayormaynotbeadmirable. apersontoostubborntoadmiterror pertinacioussuggestsanannoyingorirksomepersistence. apertinacioussalesclerkrefusingtotakenoforananswer mulishimpliesathoroughlyunreasonableobstinacy. amulishdeterminationtohavehisownway StubbornasaMule(OrSomeOtherAnimal) Mostofusarefamiliarwiththeexpressionstubbornasamule,whichsomefeelisunfairtothishybridanimal.Infairnesstothemule,letuslookatsomeoftheotheranimalsthattheEnglishlanguagehasseenfittoequatewithstubbornnessovertheyears.JohnWolcotwroteofbeing“asstubbornasahalter’dram.”Inthe19thcenturysatiricalworkTheFamilyoftheSeisers,acharacterisdescribedasbeing“asstubbornasadog-fish.”AndacharacterinMariaEdgeworth’splayLoveandLawdescribesherownhairas“stubbornasaPresbyterian.” Thesecuriousphrasesare,however,exceptional:themuleisbyfarthemostcommonlyreferencedanimalwhendescribingstubbornness.Wehavebeenusingasstubbornasamulesinceatleast1771,whentheexpressionappearsinTobiasSmollett’sTheExpeditionofHumphryClinker. ExamplesofstubborninaSentence LouisewasnotthefirsttoposittheideaofaminiaturehorseancestraltotheArab;butshewastheonlyonestubbornenoughtoproveit. —JasonElliot,MirrorsoftheUnseen,2006 Toremovestubbornpricetagsfromitemslikedishesandglassware,IuseacottonpadorQ-tipsoakedwithrubbingalcohol.Thealcoholdissolvesthestickyglueanddoesn'tmessupmymanicure. —KathePalmucci,RealSimple,April2003 Inthesearchforstrategiestodealwiththestubbornanddeadlyproblemofdrivingundertheinfluence,manycopsareturningtoanunusualtactic:Recruitingvolunteerdrinkersanddruguserstoteachofficerstorecognizeimpaireddrivers. —RussellGold,WallStreetJournal,29Oct.2002 She'swrong,butshe'stoostubborntoadmitit. Iadmirehisstubbornrefusaltoquit. tryingtotreatastubborninfection SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb DeKlerksaidMandelacouldbeextremelystubbornandunreasonable. — FoxNews,11Nov.2021 DeKlerksaidMandelacouldbeextremelystubbornandunreasonable. — AndrewMeldrunAndCaraAnna,AnchorageDailyNews,11Nov.2021 DeKlerksaidMandelacouldbeextremelystubbornandunreasonable. — NBCNews,11Nov.2021 Hisstubborninsistencesentamessagetotherestoftheteam. — ConnorLetourneau,SanFranciscoChronicle,20Mar.2021 Thatstubborninsistenceonexclusivitymayhavetoevolveasdealswithcableoperatorscomeupforrenewal,though. — JosefAdalian,Vulture,14Jan.2021 StillwoundedbyLaramieditchinghimforWalker,Lloyd’sbeingstubborn,grumpy,andbossy. — BenRosenstock,Vulture,23Nov.2021 Ifsomeofthestainsarestubborn,soakapapertowelwithvinegar,thenlayitonthestainforawhilebeforeaddingsomeelbowgreasetogetthestainsoff. — WashingtonPost,20Oct.2021 RedMountain'sdefensewasstubbornmostofthegame,asMountainView’soffensenevergotpastthe26yardlineinthesecondhalf. — TheArizonaRepublic,9Oct.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'stubborn.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofstubborn 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1a(1) HistoryandEtymologyforstubborn MiddleEnglishstibourne,stuborn LearnMoreAboutstubborn Sharestubborn PosttheDefinitionofstubborntoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofstubbornonTwitter TimeTravelerforstubborn Thefirstknownuseofstubbornwas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearstubborn stubblespurge stubborn stubbornchild SeeMoreNearbyEntries  PhrasesRelatedtostubborn (as)stubbornasamule stubbornstreak Statisticsforstubborn LastUpdated 1Jan2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Stubborn.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stubborn.Accessed3Jan.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforstubborn stubborn adjective stub·​born |\ˈstə-bərn \ KidsDefinitionofstubborn 1 :refusingtochangeanopinionorcourseofactioninspiteofdifficultyorurging She'stoostubborntoaskforhelp. 2 :persistent astubborncough 3 :difficulttohandle,manage,ortreat astubbornstain OtherWordsfromstubborn stubbornly adverb stubbornness noun MorefromMerriam-Websteronstubborn Nglish:TranslationofstubbornforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofstubbornforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY palindrome SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary DifficultSpellingWordsQuiz Whichisthecorrectspelling? accommodate acommadate acommodate accomodate Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! 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