Dictionary

obdurate en · ADJ · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈɑbd(j)əɹɪt/ (General-American)
• /ˈɒbdjʊɹɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɒbdʒʊɹɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɑbd(j)ʊɹɪt/ (General-American)
• /-ət/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /-ət/ (General-American)
• /ˈɒbdʒəɹɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

First attested in the 1450s, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English obdurat(e), borrowed from Latin obdūrātus (“hardened”), perfect passive participle of obdūrō (“to harden”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ob- (“against”) + dūrō (“to harden, render hard”), from dūrus (“hard”). Compare durable, endure.

Meanings

1. Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent.
   • Late the next afternoon Tarzan and his Waziri returned with the first load of “belongings,” and when the party saw the ancient ingots of virgin gold they swarmed upon the ape-man with a thousand questions; but he was smilingly obdurate to their appeals—he declined to give them the slightest clew as to the source of his immense treasure. 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 220:
   • […] sometimes the very custom of evil making the heart obdurate against whatsoever instructions to the contrary […] [1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
   • […] round he throws his baleful eyes That witness'd huge affliction and dismay Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate: 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 56–58:
   • Art thou obdurate, flintie, hard as ſteele? / Nay more then flint, for ſtone at raine relenteth: […] 1594, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC, [verse 34], lines [199–200]:
   • What Tharoor dismisses as mere ‘positive by-products’ Lalvani sees as central to the India the British left behind: the botanic gardens, the forest conservancies, the Archaeological Survey of India (brainchild of the otherwise obdurate Curzon) and the free press. 2017 September 7, Ferdinand Mount, “Umbrageousness”, in London Review of Books:
   • But custom maketh blind and obdurate The loftiest hearts. 1818, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “(please specify the page)”, in The Revolt of Islam; […], London: […] [F]or C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier, […]; by B[uchanan] M‘Millan, […], →OCLC, stanza 9:
   • An injury-time goal from Nikola Zigic against an obdurate Stoke side gave Birmingham back-to back Premier League wins for the first time in 14 months. 2011 February 12, Les Roopanarine, “Birmingham 1 - 0 Stoke”, in BBC:
2. (obsolete) Physically hardened, toughened.
   • The past is obdurate for the same reason a turtle's shell is obdurate: because the living flesh inside is tender and defenseless. 2011, Stephen King, 11/22/63, New York: Scribner, →ISBN, page 827:
3. Hardened against feeling; hard-hearted.
   • I fear the gentleman to whom Miss Amelia's letters were addressed was rather an obdurate critic. 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 13, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

obdurateness · obduracy · obdurately · unobdurate

Relateds

enduring · during · endure · endurance · durable · duration

Synonyms

hard-hearted · obdure · recalcitrant · hardened · impertinent · headstrong · unrepentant · intractable · unyielding

Translations (48)

ga dáigh (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · mi kakī mārō (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · cs zatvrzelý (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · br pennek (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · fr dur comme un roc (Physically hardened, toughened) · hu megrögzött (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · es obduro (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · ru упря́мый (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · hu megátalkodott (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · bg закоравял (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · ga ceanndána (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · fi kovitettu (Physically hardened, toughened) · ga righin (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · fr opiniâtre (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · mi houkeke (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · mi taumārō (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · ga aindiúideach (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · bg закален (Physically hardened, toughened) · ga dolúbtha (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · fi lujitettu (Physically hardened, toughened) · el σκληρόκαρδος (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · es obdurado (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · ga dígeanta (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · ru закалённый (Physically hardened, toughened) · eo obstina (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · sv hårdnackat (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · el πωρωμένος (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · nl weerbarstig (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · el άκαμπτος (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · nl keihard (Physically hardened, toughened) · nl onverzettelijk (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · ga docht (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · pdt baulstierich (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · mi taringa pākura (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · nl hardleers (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · mi upoko mārō (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · cs zarytý (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · de hartnäckig (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · ru закосне́лый (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · de hart (Physically hardened, toughened) · fr têtu (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · nl koppig (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · nb hardnakket (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · mi hōkeke (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · da hårdnakket (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · fi itsepintainen (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · de stur (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent) · cs umíněný (Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent)

wikipedia: Middle English

obdurate en · VERB · etymology 2

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin obdūrātus, see Etymology 1 and -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more

Meanings

1. (obsolete, transitive) To harden; to obdure.

Forms