20 February 2016
obdurate
[ob-doo-rit, -dyoo-]
adjective
1. unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding.
2. stubbornly resistant to moral influence; persistently impenitent:
an obdurate sinner.
Origin of obdurate
late Middle English Latin
1400-1450; late Middle English obdurat < Latin obdūrātus (past participle of obdūrāre to harden), equivalent to ob- ob- + dūr (us) hard + -ātus -ate1
Related forms
obdurately, adverb
obdurateness, noun
unobdurate, adjective
unobdurately, adverb
unobdurateness, noun
Synonyms
1. hard, obstinate, callous, unbending, inflexible. 2. unregenerate, reprobate, shameless.
Antonyms
1. soft, tractable. 2. humble, repentant.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for obdurate
Contemporary Examples
Yet instead of scaling back their political ambitions in the face of an obdurate reality, they are escalating them.
Are Moderate Republicans Useless?
David Frum
January 28, 2013
It happened because of massive and obdurate resistance to reasonable change.
A Little Charlotte History
Michael Tomasky
September 3, 2012
Historical Examples
In cases of obdurate induration, the udder should be anointed with iodine ointment.
Sheep, Swine, and Poultry
Robert Jennings
The three young argonauts pleaded, but the old pioneer was obdurate.
Roosevelt in the Bad Lands
H. Hagedorn.
However, the words were penetrating the hitherto ignorant or obdurate heart, and preparing it to attend to further instruction.
Pioneers and Founders
Charlotte Mary Yonge
He was as obdurate as Tennyson’s sailor‑boy whom the mermaiden forewarned so fiercely!
The Martian
George Du Maurier
He was inclined to do anything desperate and foolish, if by so doing he could sting that cruel, obdurate heart.
The Doctor’s Wife
M. E. Braddon
He spoke to Fletcher on the subject; but the leader of the expedition was obdurate.
The Young Adventurer
Horatio Alger
The fiery Giuliano della Rovere remained implacable and obdurate.
Renaissance in Italy, Volume 1 (of 7)
John Addington Symonds
She would not cry: she felt proud, obdurate, scornful, outraged.
The Guardian Angel
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Anagram
a redbout
bade tour
Today’s quote
Dreams are a sign of ambition, since ambition is nothing more than the shadow of a dream.
– William Shakespeare
On this day
20 February 1895 – death of Frederick Douglass, considered to be the father of the American civil rights movement. Douglass was a social reformer,orator, writer, statesmen and preacher. He was born circa February 1818.
20 February 1967 – birth of Kurt Cobain. Lead singer, guitarist and lyricist for Nirvana. Died approximately 5 April 1994.
20 February 2005 – death of Hunter S. Thompson, American writer and gonzo journalist. Born 18 July 1937.