obstinate

English

WOTD – 29 August 2008    

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈɒb.stɪ.nət/, /ˈɒb.stɪ.nɪt/, X-SAMPA: /"Qb.stI.n@t/, /"Qb.stI.nIt/
• (US) enPR: äb'stənət, IPA: /ˈɑb.stə.nət/, /ˈɑb.stə.nɪt/, X-SAMPA: /"Ab.st@.n@t/, /"Ab.st@.nIt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

obstinate (comparative more obstinate, superlative most obstinate)

1. Stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course, usually with implied unreasonableness; persistent.
   • 1686, Montaigne, translated by Charles Cotton, "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 Mahadev Desai, An Autobiography or The Story of my Experiments with Truth, Part IV, Chapter XXIX,

     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
• See also Wikisaurus:obstinate

Derived terms

• obstinately
• obstinateness

Related terms

• obstinacy

Translations

adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course, usually unreasonably

• Arabic: مُتَعَنت (ar) (muta3annit)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 頑固 (cmn), 顽固 (cmn) (wángù)

• Crimean Tatar: eriş, ilez
• Czech: tvrdohlavý (cs)
• Dutch: obstinaat (nl), koppig (nl), hardnekkig (nl)
• Finnish: jääräpäinen (fi), (colloquial) jästipäinen (fi)
• French: obstiné (fr)
• German: hartnäckig (de)
• Hebrew: עקשן (he)
• Hungarian: csökönyös (hu), konok (hu), makacs (hu), önfejű (hu), hajthatatlan (hu)

• Italian: ostinato (it), pertinace (it)
• Japanese: 頑固 (ja) (がんこ, ganko)
• Jèrriais: entrîn
• Macedonian: тврдоглав (mk) (tv'rdoglav) m, своеглав (mk) (svóeglav) m, упорен (mk) (úporen) m, инаетлив (mk) (ináetliv) m
• Maori: whakatuturi (mi), whātuturi (mi)
• Romanian: obstinat (ro), încăpățânat (ro)
• Russian: упрямый (ru) (uprjámyj), строптивый (ru) (stroptívyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: rag-mhuinealach (gd), rag (gd)
• Serbo-Croatian: tvrdoglav (sh), uporan (sh)
• Telugu: మొండి (te) (moNDi)
• Turkish: inatçı (tr)

inanimate

• Finnish: sitkeä (fi)

• Romanian: persistent (ro)

External links

• obstinate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• obstinate in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• obstinate at OneLook Dictionary Search

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Latin

Adjective

obstināte

1. vocative masculine singular of obstinātus