Dictionary

obstinacy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɒbstɪnəsi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio
• /ˈɑbstɪnəsi/ (General-American)

Etymology

From obstinate + -cy.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The state, or an act, of stubbornness or doggedness.
   • 1877, Leo Tolstoy (author), David Magarshack (translator), Anna Karenina, part 6, ch 12, His hand closed, he drew back, and his face assumed a still more stubborn expression. "For you it's a matter of obstinacy," she said, looking intently at him and suddenly finding the right word for the expression of his face which exasperated her so much.
   • "I don't know where," replied the girl. "Then I do," said Sikes, more in the spirit of obstinacy than because he had any real objection. 1839, Charles Dickens, chapter 44, in Oliver Twist:
   • He finished only through a mixture of determined obstinacy and ingenuity.
   • As Valentinov and others pointed out, the extreme obstinacy with which Lenin defended materialism was rooted not only in Marxism but in the tradition of the Russian materialists, especially Chernyshevsky, whose philosophy was a popularization of Feuerbach. 1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 464:
2. (collective, countable) A group or herd of bison or buffalo.
   • When the obstinacy of buffalo, which usually numbers between fifty and five hundred, is searching for food and water, the pathfinders, as the experienced cows are called, lead them to their destinations. 2022, Barbara Stotts Cochran, Our Educational System Flipped Upside Down: Teaching Reading to Reduce the Negative Effects of School Closures During the Pandemic, and Beyond, Christian Faith Publishing:
   • Ahead, in the Little Missouri River bottom, Jakub spotted an obstinacy of bison ambling down the riverbank. 2022, Taylor Brorby, Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land, Liveright:
   • 🔥 An obstinacy of Bison stampeding down a road 2024 November 12, therra123, “🔥 An obstinacy of Bison stampeding down a road”, in reddit.com:
   • Believe it or not, hairstyles are also a popular feature for second mentions. An alpaca can be 'the mop-haired camelid', and an obstinacy of bison, 'the humpbacked, shaggy-haired animals'. 2025, Juliet Maguire and Matthew Maguire, The Little Book of Second Mentions: The Art of Avoiding Repetition, Biteback Publishing:

Forms

Relateds

resolution · steadfastness · obstinate · determination · persevere · sticktoitiveness · perseverance · mumpsimus · persistence

Synonyms

pigheadedness · doggedness · self-will · vehemence · resolve · pertinacity · recalcitrance · tenacity · intransigence · insistence · stubbornness · conviction · obstinacy · temerity

Translations (83)

ca obstinació (state of stubbornness) · ru твердоло́бость (state of stubbornness) · ru упря́мство (state of stubbornness) · es testarudez (state of stubbornness) · sk tvrdohlavosť (state of stubbornness) · vi sự cố chấp (state of stubbornness) · ro obstinație (state of stubbornness) · mk упорност (state of stubbornness) · gl piturra (state of stubbornness) · fa عناد (state of stubbornness) · es obstinación (state of stubbornness) · bg ина́т (state of stubbornness) · la obstinātiō (state of stubbornness) · de Sturheit (state of stubbornness) · uz sarkashlik (state of stubbornness) · ko 완고 (state of stubbornness) · bg упори́тост (state of stubbornness) · eo obstineco (state of stubbornness) · fi itsepintaisuus (state of stubbornness) · pt obstinação (state of stubbornness) · fa معاندت (state of stubbornness) · de Eigensinn (state of stubbornness) · cs tvrdošíjnost (state of stubbornness) · sh tvrdòglavōst (state of stubbornness) · el πείσμα (state of stubbornness) · tr inatçılık (state of stubbornness) · mk сво́еглавост (state of stubbornness) · it ostinazione (state of stubbornness) · fa لجاجت (state of stubbornness) · sh упо́рно̄ст (state of stubbornness) · es porfía (state of stubbornness) · ja 頑固 (state of stubbornness) · tr inat (state of stubbornness) · hi ज़िद (state of stubbornness) · gl tercura (state of stubbornness) · it testardaggine (state of stubbornness) · hi हठधर्मिता (state of stubbornness) · az inadkarlıq (state of stubbornness) · cmn 頑固 /顽固 (state of stubbornness) · sl trma (state of stubbornness) · hi हठ (state of stubbornness) · cs tvrdohlavost (state of stubbornness) · ro încăpățânare (state of stubbornness) · tg саркашӣ (state of stubbornness) · ml മർക്കടമുഷ്ടി (state of stubbornness) · tg инод (state of stubbornness) · fi itsepäisyys (state of stubbornness) · gl teimosía (state of stubbornness) · gl touñada (state of stubbornness) · uk упе́ртість (state of stubbornness) · gl gurra (state of stubbornness) · el ισχυρογνωμοσύνη (state of stubbornness) · pdt Ieejensenn (state of stubbornness) · ru упёртость (state of stubbornness) · uz oʻjarlik (state of stubbornness) · ru упо́рство (state of stubbornness) · ar عِنَاد (state of stubbornness) · mk твр́доглавост (state of stubbornness) · eo obstino (state of stubbornness) · mk инает (state of stubbornness) · tg қайсарӣ (state of stubbornness) · ja 意地 (state of stubbornness) · es terquedad (state of stubbornness) · cs zarputilost (state of stubbornness) · sl trmoglavost (state of stubbornness) · ota عناد (state of stubbornness) · hu csökönyösség (state of stubbornness) · vi sự ngoan cố (state of stubbornness) · fr obstination (state of stubbornness) · ota اصرار (state of stubbornness) · mk инат (state of stubbornness) · be упа́ртасць (state of stubbornness) · hy կամակորություն (state of stubbornness) · tg якравӣ (state of stubbornness) · sh upórnōst (state of stubbornness) · uz qaysarlik (state of stubbornness) · el γινάτι (state of stubbornness) · pl upartość (state of stubbornness) · gl teima (state of stubbornness) · fr entêtement (state of stubbornness) · pl upór (state of stubbornness) · ota تمرد (state of stubbornness) · sh тврдо̀главо̄ст (state of stubbornness)