obstinate
When someone is beyond stubborn, use the word obstinate instead: "You obstinate old mule! Get out of my way!"
While stubborn may have positive or negative connotations, obstinate is most definitely negative, because it implies a kind of hard-headed determination not to change your mind even when it might be best to rethink your position. "The obstinate Man does not hold Opinions, but they hold him," wrote Samuel Butler way back in the seventeenth century. The word still does the trick if you want a put-down for someone you think is being a pig-headed fool or a stick in the mud.
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refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convincesynonyms: stubborn, unregeneratedisobedientnot obeying or complying with commands of those in authoritydetermineddevoting full strength and concentrated attention tostiff-neckedhaughtily stubbornintractablenot tractable; difficult to manage or mold
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stubbornly persistent in wrongdoingsynonyms: cussed, obdurate, unrepentant
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resistant to guidance or discipline“an obstinate child with a violent temper”disobedientnot obeying or complying with commands of those in authority
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persist stubbornly
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Vocabulary lists containing obstinate
On the SAT, all of the Reading Test questions are multiple choice and are based on reading passages that may be taken from literature, science, the social sciences, or a U.S. founding document (or a text inspired by such a document). Many of the reading comprehension questions meant to assess a student’s understanding of those passages will require students to choose words that best describe the writer’s tone or point of view, words like the 25 words you see on this list. Learn them here so when you see them in an SAT answer choice, you’ll know what they mean! Following our Roadmap to the SAT? Head back to see what else you should be learning this week.
On the New SAT, all of the Reading Test questions are multiple choice and are based on reading passages that may be taken from literature, science, the social sciences, or a US founding document (or a text inspired by such a document). Many of the reading comprehension questions meant to assess a student’s understanding of those passages will require students to choose words that best describe the writer’s tone or point of view, words like the 200 words you see on this list. Learn them here so when you see them in an SAT answer choice, you’ll know what they mean! Here are all of our word lists to help you prepare for the new SAT (debuting March of 2016): The Language of the Test, Multiple-Meaning Words, and Words to Capture Tone.
Learn these essential words that you'll encounter in literature, textbooks, class discussions, and more.