Stubborn Meaning
/ˈstʌbɚn/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjRefusing to move or to change one's opinion; obstinate; firmly resisting; persistent in doing something.
adjPhysically stiff and inflexible; not easily melted or worked.
Sentence Examples
Your argument is not any more convincing than that of my stubborn father.
The more stubborn you are, the more isolated you become.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ mule refused to move even when the farmer pulled hard.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old mule was very ____ and refused to move single inch despite the farmer's best efforts today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English stiborne, stibourne, stoburn, stoburne, styburne, stiborn, of uncertain origin; one hypothesis is that it may be from Old English *stybbor, from Old English stybb (“a stump, stub”) + -or (adjective-formation suffix, as in bitor, whence English bitter).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Under his hand a stubborn latch sprung noisily […]"
— 1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
"But I have to say that one thing you inherited from your mother is a whole lot of stubborn."
— 2003, Dana Stabenow, A Grave Denied, →ISBN, page 86:
"That takes a lot of stubborn for a seventy-something man."
— 2014, Victoria Hamilton, Muffin But Murder, →ISBN:
"Stubborn is not eating pizza out of a square pan because you know it won't taste as good as a round one. Stubborn is spending twelve thousand dollars to fix a five-hundred-dollar truck just because it's “your baby.”"
— 2016, Ken Robert Baugh, Just Passing Time, →ISBN:
"With evidence that the causal agent of stubborn is spread by insects, control or prevention of this disease will prove more difficult than formerly thought to be."
— 1967, Walter Reuther, The Citrus Industry, Volume IV, →ISBN, page 129:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ mule refused to move even when the farmer pulled hard.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old mule was very ____ and refused to move single inch despite the farmer's best efforts today.