OBDURATE Synonyms: 222 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'obdurate' different from other adjectives like it?

The words adamant and inflexible are common synonyms of obdurate . While all three words mean "unwilling to alter a predetermined course or purpose," obdurate stresses hardness of heart and insensitivity to appeals for mercy or the influence of divine grace. // obdurate in his refusal to grant clemency

Q: When can 'adamant' be used instead of 'obdurate'?

The words adamant and obdurate can be used in similar contexts, but adamant implies utter immovability in the face of all temptation or entreaty. // adamant that the work should continue

Q: Where would 'inflexible' be a reasonable alternative to 'obdurate'?

While the synonyms inflexible and obdurate are close in meaning, inflexible implies rigid adherence or even slavish conformity to principle. // inflexible in their demands

obdurate

adjective

ˈäb-də-rət

Definition of obdurate next

as in ruthless

having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings the obdurate refusal of the crotchety old man to let the neighborhood kids retrieve their stray ball from his backyard

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stubborn

sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion an obdurate farmer who could never be convinced to try a different method of fertilization

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word obdurate different from other adjectives like it?

The words adamant and inflexible are common synonyms of obdurate. While all three words mean "unwilling to alter a predetermined course or purpose," obdurate stresses hardness of heart and insensitivity to appeals for mercy or the influence of divine grace.

obdurate in his refusal to grant clemency

When can adamant be used instead of obdurate?

The words adamant and obdurate can be used in similar contexts, but adamant implies utter immovability in the face of all temptation or entreaty.

adamant that the work should continue

Where would inflexible be a reasonable alternative to obdurate?

While the synonyms inflexible and obdurate are close in meaning, inflexible implies rigid adherence or even slavish conformity to principle.

inflexible in their demands

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of obdurate To Matthew and Rachelle, who by now had become attuned to the obdurate implacability of British authorities, the coroner’s response was maddening: this was their final opportunity to ascertain the truth. —

Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024 Regina Hall came down with pneumonia while shooting Girls Trip, the irreverent 2017 comedy from Will Packer, a savant who repeatedly has shown an obdurate Hollywood that Black movies can mint money at the box office. —

Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Jan. 2024 By the spring of 1945, with Germany defeated, the Allies turned to an obdurate Japan. —

Peter Englund, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023 The camera often pans to the obdurate face of an office clock, showing time frozen but also inexorably passing—the burning fuse of Chow and Su’s relationship. —

Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 1 Sep. 2023 See all Example Sentences for obdurate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for obdurate

Adjective

They are expected to manage the roster with a little more thought paid to player welfare and a little less thought paid to marginal gains and ruthless efficiency.

— Andrew Baggarly, The Athletic, 30 Jan. 2025
Since the regime fell, the evidence of a ruthless police state has grown overwhelming.

— Ian Crouch, The New Yorker, 28 Jan. 2025