Synonyms for stubborn
ˈstʌb ərnstub·born

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.0 / 2 votes

1. stubborn

   The headstrong person is not to be stopped in his own course of action, while the obstinate and stubborn is not to be driven to another's way. The headstrong act; the obstinate and stubborn may simply refuse to stir. The most amiable person may be obstinate on some one point; the stubborn person is for the most part habitually so; we speak of obstinate determination, stubborn resistance. Stubborn is the term most frequently applied to the lower animals and inanimate things. Refractory implies more activity of resistance; the stubborn horse balks; the refractory animal plunges, rears, and kicks; metals that resist ordinary processes of reduction are termed refractory. One is obdurate who adheres to his purpose in spite of appeals that would move any tender-hearted or right-minded person. Contumacious refers to a proud and insolent defiance of authority, as of the summons of a court. Pertinacious demand is contrasted with obstinate refusal. The unyielding conduct which we approve we call decided, firm, inflexible, resolute; that which we condemn we are apt to term headstrong, obstinate, stubborn. Compare PERVERSE.

   Synonyms:
   contumacious, decided, determined, dogged, firm, fixed, headstrong, heady, immovable, indomitable, inflexible, intractable, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, persistent, pertinacious, refractory, resolute, resolved, unconquerable, unflinching, unyielding

   Antonyms:
   amenable, complaisant, compliant, docile, dutiful, gentle, irresolute, obedient, pliable, pliant, submissive, teachable, tractable, undecided, wavering, yielding

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.0 / 2 votes

1. stubborn

   Synonyms:
   tough, unbending, unyielding, hard, obstinate, intractable, obdurate, stiff, harsh, inflexible, headstrong, refractory, heady, contumacious, pig-headed

   Antonyms:
   docile, tractable, manageable, pliant, pliable, malleable, flexible

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. stubborn, obstinate, unregenerateadjective

   tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield

   Synonyms:
   unreformable, obstinate, wayward, cussed, obdurate, unrepentant, unregenerate, refractory, perverse, unregenerated, contrary

   Antonyms:
   meek, yielding, sheeplike, tractable, manipulable, docile, sheepish, tame

2. refractory, stubbornadjective

   not responding to treatment

   "a stubborn infection"; "a refractory case of acne"; "stubborn rust stains"

   Synonyms:
   recalcitrant, fractious, refractory, obstinate, unregenerate

   Antonyms:
   manipulable, sheeplike, sheepish, docile, tractable, meek, yielding, tame

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. adamant

   being fixed in a particular thing.

   harry is very adamant

   Submitted by V7 on January 10, 2021  

2. aquiclude

   person that is not easily believing or accepting something

   he didn't believe me when i said that i scored a goal because he's an aquiclude.

   Submitted by rinat on March 27, 2016  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. stubbornadjective

   Synonyms:
   obstinate, unyielding, inflexible, positive, contumacious, refractory, perverse, headstrong, cantankerous, wilful, dogged, mulish, unruly, unmanageable, ungovernable, intractable, indocile, heady, cross-grained, obdurate, stiff, pig-headed

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. stubbornadjective

   Synonyms:
   unyielding, obstinate, obdurate, mulish, refractory, indocile, headstrong, inflexible, intractable, perverse, contumacious, impersuadable, recalcitrant, stiff-necked, rugged, persistent, incompliant

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:3.0 / 1 vote

1. List of paraphrases for "stubborn":

   obstinate, headstrong, tenacious, intransigent, diehard, hard-nosed, persistent, hard-headed, die-hard, dogged, willful, feisty, wayward

How to pronounce stubborn?

How to say stubborn in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use stubborn in a sentence?

1. John Adams:

   Facts are stubborn things and what ever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they can not alter the state of facts, and evidence.

2. John Adams:

   Facts are stubborn things and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

3. Alexander Herzen:

   There is nothing in the world more stubborn than a corpse: you can hit it, you can knock it to pieces, but you cannot convince it.

4. Joel Brodsky:

   Facts are a stubborn thing.

5. John Quincy Adams:

   Facts are stubborn things and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.