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

Other Word Forms

• obdurately adverb
• obduracy noun
• obdurateness noun
• unobdurate adjective
• unobdurately adverb
• unobdurateness 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

But encountering “Dark” now, something else stands out: There is no way for a viewer to know for certain whether the word is really written on the underside, beneath all that obdurate tonnage.

From Los Angeles Times

None of that has immunized the lowly smelt from its most obdurate enemy: partisan folly.

From Los Angeles Times

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