Stubbornness

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stubborn \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.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           And I was young and full of ragerie [wantonness]
           Stubborn and strong, and jolly as a pie. --Chaucer.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           These heretics be so stiff and stubborn. --Sir T. More.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           Your stubborn usage of the pope.         --Shak.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  stubbornness
       n 1: the trait of being difficult to handle or overcome [syn: {obstinacy},
             {obstinance}, {mulishness}]
       2: resolute adherence to your own ideas or desires [syn: {bullheadedness},
           {obstinacy}, {obstinance}, {pigheadedness}, {self-will}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  183 Moby Thesaurus words for "stubbornness":
     adhesiveness, antipathy, application, assiduity, assiduousness,
     averseness, aversion, backwardness, balkiness, bigotry,
     bulldog tenacity, bullheadedness, cantankerousness, cohesiveness,
     concentration, consistency, constancy, contempt, contumaciousness,
     contumacy, cursoriness, defiance, defiance of authority, despite,
     determination, diligence, disagreement, disinclination,
     disobedience, disrelish, dissent, distaste, dogged perseverance,
     doggedness, dogmatism, durability, endurance, engrossment,
     fanaticism, fidelity, firmness, fixed mind, foot-dragging,
     fractiousness, fundamentalism, gluiness, glutinosity,
     grudging consent, grudgingness, gumminess, hardheadedness,
     hardiness, hardness, headstrongness, immovability, immutability,
     impliability, indefatigability, indisposedness, indisposition,
     indocility, inductility, industriousness, industry, inelasticity,
     inexorability, inextensibility, inflexibility, inflexible will,
     infrangibility, insistence, insistency, intolerance,
     intractability, intractableness, irresilience, irresiliency,
     lack of enthusiasm, lack of zeal, lastingness, leatherlikeness,
     loyalty, mulishness, mutinousness, nolition, obduracy,
     obdurateness, obstinacy, obstinateness, obstreperousness,
     opinionatedness, opposition, orneriness, orthodoxy,
     overzealousness, patience, patience of Job, perfunctoriness,
     permanence, perseverance, persistence, persistency,
     pertinaciousness, pertinacity, pigheadedness, plodding, plugging,
     precisianism, preoccupation, purism, puritanism, recalcitrance,
     recalcitrancy, recalcitration, refractoriness, refusal,
     relentlessness, reluctance, renitence, renitency, repugnance,
     resistance, resolution, restiveness, retention, rigidity,
     rigidness, rigor, rigorousness, ropiness, sedulity, sedulousness,
     self-will, single-mindedness, singleness of purpose, slogging,
     slowness, snugness, stability, stamina, staying power,
     steadfastness, steadiness, stick-to-itiveness, stickiness,
     stiff neck, stiff-neckedness, stiffness, strength, stringiness,
     strongheadness, sulk, sulkiness, sulks, sullenness, tackiness,
     tenaciousness, tenacity, tightness, tirelessness, toughness,
     unalterability, unbendingness, unbreakability, unbreakableness,
     uncompromisingness, uncooperativeness, unenthusiasm, unlimberness,
     unmalleability, unpliability, unregenerateness, unrelentingness,
     unremittingness, unruliness, unswerving attention, unwillingness,
     unyieldingness, viscidity, viscosity, vitality, wildness,
     willfulness