|pərt ə n|āshəs, |pə̄t-, |pəit- adjective
Etymology: Latin pertinac-, pertinax (from per- thoroughly, completely + -tinac-, -tinax, from tenac-, tenax tenacious) + English -ious — more at per- , tenacious
1. : marked by an unyieldingly persistent fixedness (as of opinion, purpose, action) that is often annoyingly perverse in fact or in appearance : stubbornly inflexible
a pertinacious opponent
pertinacious opinions
2. : hard to get rid of : doggedly tenacious: as
a. : that resolutely or obstinately continues to last : not easily dislodged or dismissed or brought to an end
many years of pertinacious advertising — Berton Roueché
the theater … is a pertinacious institution, always confounding the prophets who announce from time to time that it is about to die — John Brophy
pertinacious curiosity
b. : that resolutely or obstinately persists in asking or demanding : refusing to be put off or denied : importunate
a pertinacious beggar
pertinacious creditors
c. : stubbornly unshakable
when the danger was so obvious that all but the most pertinacious optimists or partisans were silent — D.W.Brogan
d. : that resists treatment
a pertinacious fever
Synonyms: see obstinate