obdurate
adjective
Edith Wharton
Did you know?
When you are confronted with someone obdurate, you may end up feeling dour. During the encounter, you may find that you need to be durable to keep your sanity intact. Maybe you will find such situations less stressful in the future if you can face them knowing that the words obdurate, dour, and durable are etymological kissing cousins. All of those words trace back to the Latin adjective durus, which means "hard." This adjective can still be found in dura mater, the name for the tough fibrous material that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, which comes from a Medieval Latin phrase meaning, literally, "hard mother."
Synonyms
- affectless
- callous
- case-hardened
- cold-blooded
- compassionless
- desensitized
- hard
- hard-boiled
- hard-hearted
- heartless
- indurate
- inhuman
- inhumane
- insensate
- insensitive
- ironhearted
- merciless
- pachydermatous
- pitiless
- remorseless
- ruthless
- slash-and-burn
- soulless
- stony
- stoney
- stonyhearted
- take-no-prisoners
- thick-skinned
- uncharitable
- unfeeling
- unmerciful
- unsparing
- unsympathetic
Example Sentences
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2022 Those are just the most obdurate employers, says David Woods, the union’s secretary-treasurer. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2022 She was largely paralyzed from the neck down but just as obdurate as ever, wanting Sri to be the one to feed her, administer her fentanyl patch, bathe her and change her diaper, even though Sri had hired a home health aide to help. Noy Thrupkaew, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2021 When team members or individual personalities try to be obdurate and disturb the team conversation, the team coach will need to maintain composure under such circumstances. Jedidiah Alex Koh, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2021 Ink and paint veer between obdurate opacity and delicate transparency. New York Times, 19 Aug. 2021 The chorus sings of the Plague of Thebes over five darkly screaming chords in the key of B-flat minor, with an obdurate bass line grating against the upper harmonies. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 21 June 2021 By the summer of 1776, all but the most obdurate loyalists on the American continent knew that all-out war between Britain and the American Colonies had arrived. Steve Donoghue, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 June 2021 France’s defense is stolid and obdurate and miserly. New York Times, 15 June 2021 See More Word History
Middle English, borrowed from Late Latin obdūrātus, going back to Latin, past participle of obdūrāre "to harden, be persistent, hold out," from ob-, perfective prefix + dūrāre "to harden, hold out, endure" — more at ob-, during
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
obdurate
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- ruthless
- merciless
- stony
- pitiless
- hard
- oppressive
- unsympathetic
- remorseless
- unmerciful
- callous
- compassionless
- indurate
- unfeeling
- heartless
- cruel
- insensate
- harsh
- inhuman
- stern
- brutal
- abusive
- tough
- insensitive
- malicious
- hateful
- hard-hearted
- soulless
- uncharitable
- affectless
- inhumane
- vicious
- grim
- unsparing
- case-hardened
- severe
- savage
- pachydermatous
- thick-skinned
- boorish
- stoney
- unfriendly
- ironhearted
- ungentle
- desensitized
- uncaring
- take-no-prisoners
- heedless
- thoughtless
- cold-blooded
- disagreeable
- spiteful
- inconsiderate
- surly
- malevolent
- unthinking
- hard-boiled
- stonyhearted
- virulent
- mean
- rough
- unloving
- brutish
- slash-and-burn
- barbarous
- acrimonious
- cold
- hard-bitten
- rancorous
- jackbooted
- bestial
- austere
- ill-tempered
- sledgehammer
- ill-natured
- ironfisted
- frosty
- heavy-handed
- ironhanded
- rough-and-tumble
- evil-minded
- knock-down-and-drag-out
- knock-down, drag-out
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- sympathetic
- merciful
- benevolent
- sensitive
- compassionate
- benignant
- warm
- gentle
- humane
- kindly
- kindhearted
- charitable
- kind
- mild
- softhearted
- gracious
- lenient
- tender
- warmhearted
- indulgent
- friendly
- tolerant
- tenderhearted
- cordial
- clement
- affectionate
- good-natured
- good-tempered
- understanding
- loving
- fond
Synonyms & Similar Words
- stubborn
- adamant
- steadfast
- hardened
- intransigent
- obstinate
- implacable
- unyielding
- unbending
- wilful
- mulish
- pertinacious
- immovable
- unrelenting
- inflexible
- adamantine
- uncompromising
- hardheaded
- willful
- pigheaded
- headstrong
- dogged
- ossified
- persistent
- bullheaded
- obsessive
- opinionated
- hard
- perverse
- stiff-necked
- determined
- relentless
- hard-nosed
- pat
- self-willed
- strict
- self-opinionated
- tenacious
- inexorable
- rigid
- inconvincible
- defiant
- iron
- unflinching
- stern
- recalcitrant
- wrongheaded
- wayward
- contumacious
- severe
- cantankerous
- uncooperative
- intractable
- deaf to reason
- hidebound
- resolved
- refractory
- bloody-minded
- indomitable
- mutinous
- firm
- disobedient
- unconquerable
- unmanageable
- single-minded
- insubordinate
- contrary
- inveterate
- invincible
- unruly
- ungovernable
- stouthearted
- anal-retentive
- hard-line
- unregenerate
- narrow-minded
- hell-bent
- cussed
- insurgent
- froward
- hard-shelled
- exacting
- demanding
- confirmed
- set
- hard-shell
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- acquiescent
- pliant
- agreeable
- pliable
- amenable
- compliant
- docile
- flexible
- obedient
- complying
- tractable
- yielding
- submissive
- receptive
- placable
- relenting
- responsive
- accepting
- willing
- reasonable
- temperate
- subservient
- persuadable
- slavish
- governable
- manageable
Synonym Chooser
The words adamant and inflexible are common synonyms of obdurate. While all three words mean "unwilling to alter a predetermined course or purpose," obdurate stresses hardness of heart and insensitivity to appeals for mercy or the influence of divine grace.
The words adamant and obdurate can be used in similar contexts, but adamant implies utter immovability in the face of all temptation or entreaty.
While the synonyms inflexible and obdurate are close in meaning, inflexible implies rigid adherence or even slavish conformity to principle.