obdurate

[ ob-doo-rit, -dyoo- ]

adjective

1. unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding.

   Synonyms: inflexible, unbending, callous, obstinate, hard

   Antonyms: tractable, soft

2. stubbornly resistant to moral influence; persistently impenitent:

   an obdurate sinner.

   Synonyms: shameless, reprobate, unregenerate

   Antonyms: repentant, humble

obdurate

/ ˈɒbdjʊrɪt /

adjective

1. not easily moved by feelings or supplication; hardhearted
2. impervious to persuasion, esp to moral persuasion

Derived Forms

• ˈobdurately, adverb
• ˈobduracy, noun

Other Words From

• obdu·rate·ly adverb
• obdu·rate·ness noun
• un·obdu·rate adjective
• un·obdu·rate·ly adverb
• un·obdu·rate·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of obdurate¹

1400–50; late Middle English obdurat < Latin obdūrātus (past participle of obdūrāre to harden), equivalent to ob- ob- + dūr ( us ) hard + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of obdurate¹

C15: from Latin obdūrāre to make hard, from ob- (intensive) + dūrus hard; compare endure

Example Sentences

Jordan Clark and Kemar Roach ran down the overs with an obdurate partnership before the former was bowled by Vaughan for a 47-ball duck.

From BBC

During the New Deal, the most obdurate critics of Franklin Roosevelt’s policies were Democrats — Southern Democrats, to be sure, but his party members nonetheless — while among his most loyal supporters were liberal Republicans.

From Los Angeles Times

Its leader, Wayne LaPierre, was the face of obdurate resistance to regulations on firearms.

From Seattle Times

A senior Western intelligence official told me that Israel had killed about one-third of Hamas forces and destroyed about one-third of the tunnel network that makes Hamas such an obdurate enemy.

From BBC

Admittedly, with that preeminence has come changes that even an obdurate critic like me must hail.

From Salon