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obstinate |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Obstinate \Ob"sti*nate\, a. [L. obstinatus p. p. of obstinare to set about a thing with firmness, to persist in ob (see {Ob-}) + a word from the root of stare to stand See {Stand}, and cf.{Destine}.] 1. Pertinaciously adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course; persistent; not yielding to reason, arguments, or other means stubborn; pertinacious; -- usually implying unreasonableness. I have known great cures done by obstinate resolution of drinking no wine. --Sir W. Temple. No ass so meek, no ass so obstinate. --Pope. Of sense and outward things --Wordsworth. 2. Not yielding; not easily subdued or removed; as obstinate fever; obstinate obstructions. Syn: Stubborn; inflexible; immovable; firm; pertinacious; persistent; headstrong; opinionated; unyielding; refractory; contumacious. See {Stubborn}. -- {Ob"sti*nate*ly}, adv -- {Ob"sti*nate*ness}, n. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: obstinate adj 1: stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing [syn: {cussed}, {obdurate}, {unrepentant}] 2: resistant to guidance or discipline; "Mary Mary quite contrary"; "an obstinate child with a violent temper"; "a perverse mood"; "wayward behavior" [syn: {contrary}, {perverse}, {wayward}] 3: persisting in a reactionary stand [syn: {stubborn}, {unregenerate}] From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]: OBSTINATE, adj Inaccessible to the truth as it is manifest in the splendor and stress of our advocacy. The popular type and exponent of obstinacy is the mule, a most intelligent animal.
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