Definitions for: Stubborn


[adj] persisting in a reactionary stand
[adj] difficult to treat or deal with; "stubborn rust stains"; "a stubborn case of acne"
[adj] tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield
[adj] (medicine) not responding to treatment; "a stubborn infection"; "a refractory case of acne"



Webster (1913) Definition: Stub"born, a. [OE. stoburn, stiborn; probably fr. AS.
styb a stub. See Stub.]
Firm as a stub or stump; stiff; unbending; unyielding;
persistent; hence, unreasonably obstinate in will or opinion;
not yielding to reason or persuasion; refractory; harsh; --
said of persons and things; as, stubborn wills; stubborn ore;
a stubborn oak; as stubborn as a mule. ``Bow, stubborn
knees.'' --Shak. ``Stubborn attention and more than common
application.'' --Locke. ``Stubborn Stoics.'' --Swift.

And I was young and full of ragerie [wantonness]
Stubborn and strong, and jolly as a pie. --Chaucer.

These heretics be so stiff and stubborn. --Sir T. More.

Your stubborn usage of the pope. --Shak.

Syn: Obstinate; inflexible; obdurate; headstrong; stiff;
hardy; firm; refractory; intractable; rugged;
contumacious; heady.

Usage: Stubborn, Obstinate. Obstinate is used of either
active or passive persistence in one's views or
conduct, in spite of the wishes of others. Stubborn
describes an extreme degree of passive obstinacy. --
Stub"born*ly, adv. -- Stub"born*ness, n.

Synonyms: bloody-minded, bolshy, bulldog, bullet-headed, bullheaded, cantankerous, contrarious, cross-grained, determined, difficult, dogged, dour, hard, hardheaded, mulish, obstinate, pertinacious, pigheaded, refractory, stiff-necked, strong-minded, strong-willed, stroppy, tenacious, unreconstructed, unregenerate, unyielding

Antonyms: docile

See Also: disobedient, intractable

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