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obdurate

 - 3 dictionary results

ob⋅du⋅rate

  [ob-doo-rit, -dyoo-]
Use obdurate in a Sentence
–adjective
1. unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding.
2. stubbornly resistant to moral influence; persistently impenitent: an obdurate sinner.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME obdurat < L obdūrātus (ptp. of obdūrāre to harden), equiv. to ob- ob- + dūr(us) hard + -ātus -ate 1

Related forms:
ob⋅du⋅rate⋅ly, adverb
ob⋅du⋅rate⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. hard, obstinate, callous, unbending, inflexible. 2. unregenerate, reprobate, shameless.

Antonyms:
1. soft, tractable. 2. humble, repentant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To obdurate
ob·du·rate   (ŏb'dŏŏ-rĭt, -dyŏŏ-)   
adj.  

    1. Hardened in wrongdoing or wickedness; stubbornly impenitent: "obdurate conscience of the old sinner" (Sir Walter Scott).

    2. Hardened against feeling; hardhearted: an obdurate miser.

  2. Not giving in to persuasion; intractable. See Synonyms at inflexible.


[Middle English obdurat, from Late Latin obdūrātus, past participle of obdūrāre, to harden, from Latin, to be hard, endure : ob-, intensive pref.; see ob- + dūrus, hard; see deru- in Indo-European roots.]
ob'du·rate·ly adv., ob'du·rate·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

obdurate 
c.1440, from L. obduratus "hardened," pp. of obdurare "harden," from ob "against" + durare "harden, render hard," from durus "hard" (see endure).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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