obstinate

Definition

Stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course, usually with implied unreasonableness; persistent.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English obstinat(e) (“obstinate, stubborn”), from Latin obstinātus, perfect passive participle of obstinō (“set one's mind firmly upon, resolve”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ob (“before”) + *stinare, from stare (“to stand”). Doublet of ostinato.

Example Sentences

• "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 […]"
• "[…] the junior Osborne was quite as obstinate as the senior: when he wanted a thing, quite as firm in his resolution to get it; and quite as violent when angered, as his father in his most stern moments"
• "1925-29, Mahadev Desai (translator), M.K. Gandhi, 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."

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