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obstinacy Definition

ob·sti·nacy (äb′stə nə sē)

noun

  1. the state or quality of being obstinate; specif.,
    1. stubbornness
    2. resistance to treatment; persistence, as of a disease
  2. pl. obstinacies -·cies an obstinate act, attitude, etc.

Etymology: ME obstinacie < ML obstinatia, for L obstinatio

obstinacy Synonyms

obstinacy

n.

stubbornness, tenacity, reluctance; see determination 2, purpose 1.

obstinacy Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • such: Oxfam warned that such obstinacy from the EU and the resultant standoff between major trading powers would ultimately harm developing countries.
  • great: I urged him to throw away his mystics; but he adhered to them with the greater obstinacy.
  • sheer: Of course, Bloom can also accomplish his goal by sheer obstinacy.
  • own: The defendants cannot rely on their own obstinacy to assert that mediation had no reasonable prospect of success.
  • mulish: The Fall had a mulish obstinacy, the bass-heavy clutter and intricate guitar designs backed up by drums which stomp and bray viciously.
  • pig-headed: In one of the best examples I can recall of Brian's pig-headed obstinacy, he would not get off.
obstinacy Quotes

Thehistoryof science, likethehistoryof all humanideas, is a history of irresponsible dreams, of obstinacy, and of error. But science is one of the very few human activitiesöperhaps the only oneöin which errors are systematically criticized and fairly often, in time, corrected. This is why we can say that, in science, we often learn from our mistakes, and why we can speak clearly and sensibly about making progress there.

—Popper, Sir Karl Raimund

Obstinacy in a bad cause, is but constancy in a good.

—Browne, SirThomas

'Tis known by the name of perseverance in a good cause,öand of obstinacy in a bad one.

—Sterne, Laurence