adamant

[ ad-uh-muhnt, -mant ]
See synonyms for: adamantadamancyadamantly on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. utterly unyielding in attitude or opinion in spite of all appeals, urgings, etc.

  2. too hard to cut, break, or pierce.

noun
  1. any impenetrably or unyieldingly hard substance.

  2. a legendary stone of impenetrable hardness, formerly sometimes identified with the diamond.

Origin of adamant

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, from Old French adamaunt, from Latin adamant- (stem of adamas ) “hard metal (perhaps steel), diamond,” from Greek, equivalent to a- a-6 + -damant- verbal adjective of damân “to tame, conquer”; replacing Old English athamans (from Medieval Latin ) and Middle English aymont, from Middle French aimant, from unattested Vulgar Latin adimant-, from Latin

Other words for adamant

Opposites for adamant

Other words from adamant

  • ad·a·man·cy [ad-uh-muhn-see], /ˈæd ə mən si/, ad·a·mance, noun
  • ad·a·mant·ly, adverb
  • un·ad·a·mant, adjective

Words Nearby adamant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use adamant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for adamant

adamant

/ (ˈædəmənt) /


adjective
  1. unshakable in purpose, determination, or opinion; unyielding

  2. a less common word for adamantine (def. 1)

noun
  1. any extremely hard or apparently unbreakable substance

  2. a legendary stone said to be impenetrable, often identified with the diamond or loadstone

Origin of adamant

1
Old English: from Latin adamant-, stem of adamas, from Greek; literal meaning perhaps: unconquerable, from a- 1 + daman to tame, conquer

Derived forms of adamant

  • adamantly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012