Synonyms for obdurate
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Obstinate — stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent
obstinate, stubborn, unrepentant, hardened, unyielding, hard-hearted, dogged, unbending, stiff-necked, recalcitrant, tough, incorrigible, inflexible, intractable, unfeeling, insensible, callous, immovable, rigid, abandoned, impertinent, adamantine
2. Flinty
Definitions
- adj. 1
Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent.
- adj. 2
Hardened against feeling; hard-hearted.
Related words
- Word family
- obduracy obdurately
Choose the right word
One is obdurate who adheres to his purpose in spite of appeals that would move any tender-hearted or right-minded person.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- stubborn I'm not stubborn; i'm just always right, thats it.
- hardened The cement hardened and restricted Hulk’s movements.
- obstinate I've heard that Tom and Mary are quite obstinate.
- unrepentant Tom is an unrepentant sinner.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| obdurate | steady | |
| stubborn | rising | |
| hardened | steady | |
| obstinate | steady | |
| unrepentant | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- tough1, rigid2, stony2
- 6 letters
- dogged1, flinty2
- 7 letters
- callous2
- 8 letters
- stubborn2, hardened2, granitic3
- 9 letters
- abandoned3, immovable4, obstinate3, unfeeling3, unbending3
- 10 letters
- inflexible4, unyielding3, insensible4, adamantine
- 11 letters
- intractable4, unrepentant4, impertinent4
- 12 letters
- recalcitrant4, incorrigible5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (rigid2 = 2 syllables).