die-hard

or die·hard

[ dahy-hahrd ]

noun

1. a person who vigorously maintains or defends a seemingly hopeless position, outdated attitude, lost cause, or the like.

adjective

1. resisting vigorously and stubbornly to the last; stubborn.

die-hard

noun

1. a person who resists change or who holds onto an untenable position or outdated attitude
2. modifier obstinately resistant to change

Derived Forms

• ˈdie-ˌhardism, noun

Other Words From

• die-hardism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of die-hard¹

First recorded in 1835–45; noun, adj. use of verb phrase die hard

Idioms and Phrases

Take a long time to cease to exist or be dropped from consideration. For example, Old prejudices die hard , or The more radical parts of this proposal will die hard . This idiom alludes to struggling against physical death. [Late 1700s]

Example Sentences

There was plenty of talk about that, but then I heard it was put to bed and they came out with A Good Day to Die Hard.

From The Daily Beast

Merlino says she first noticed him on her Facebook feed and quickly became a die-hard Kohrs fan.

From The Daily Beast

Bush, Carney said, could expand the pool of primary voters beyond the die-hard conservatives.

From The Daily Beast

Who knew that, yes, Die Hard was a novel before it was a movie?

From The Daily Beast

Then Nothing Lasts Forever became Die Hard, Leland was renamed John McClane, and you know what happened next.

From The Daily Beast

Whether the cook must die hard, or whether he meant the friend, Chip did not trouble to make plain.

From Project Gutenberg

Aye, as sailors say—‘To work hard, live hard, die hard an’ go to hell after all would be hard indeed!

From Project Gutenberg

That long fostered and passionately held creed would die hard.

From Project Gutenberg

I'll direct you the road, and if you're lucky you'll find a Die-Hard about the village.

From Project Gutenberg

We must remember that mendicancy is a very ancient institution in Italy, and that it will die hard, if it ever dies at all.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abide
• combat
• confront
• continue
• curb
• defy
• endure
• forgo
• maintain
• prevent
• refuse
• repel
• thwart
• turn down