Word of the Day

Saturday, April 27, 2002

adamant

\AD-uh-muhnt\ , adjective;

Not capable of being swayed by pleas, appeals, or reason; not susceptible to persuasion; unyielding.

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Quotes:

In the cabin, the skipper and Truong Hong were arguing furiously, one convinced the boat had run aground, the other adamant that it was snared in nets.

-- Tran Vu, The Dragon Hunt

I pretended that nothing had happened, so adamant in my denial that my memory gradually underwent a revision.

-- Chu T'ien-wen, Notes of a Desolate Man

It's amazing the ignorance--and the adamant ignorance--of so many people, people one would think might at least admit to simply not having knowledge of something.

-- Ira Berkow, To the Hoop: The Seasons of a Basketball Life

Origin:

Adamant derives from Greek adamas, adamant-, "unconquerable; the hardest metal; diamond."