I. ˈstəbə(r)n adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English stibourne, stuborn, stoburne, perhaps irregular from stubb, stubbe stub — more at stub
1.
a. : unreasonably or perversely unyielding in character or quality : pigheaded , mulish
break the stubborn will which had been perverted at the source — Henry Miller
jeopardized … by his stubborn and tactless maneuvers — A.L.Funk
stubborn carelessness
b. : fixed, resolute, or justifiably unyielding in character or purpose : determined , dogged
the resources of the stubborn mind, the stout heart — A.E.Stevenson †1965
stubborn yeomen who parade their independence — V.L.Parrington
stubborn conviction
stubborn courage
stubborn resistance
c. : unyielding, defiant, or resolute in cast or appearance
had a stubborn profile, like a willful horse — Katherine A. Porter
under the stubborn arch of their brows — Walter O'Meara
2.
a. : difficult to handle, work, or manage : resistant , refractory
was able to start a stubborn fire engine — V.G.Heiser
the lashes standing stubborn and thick along the lowered lid — Kay Boyle
sometimes the soil proved too stubborn for even this hardy people — American Guide Series: New Hampshire
methods for dealing with stubborn problems — Theodore Draper
b. : difficult to treat or cure : unresponsive to care : chronic , persistent
methods … dermatologists use today in treating stubborn cases — Marjorie Vetter
stubborn germ plasm's successive ways of surrounding itself with an ever more secure environment — Weston La Barre
only a pathological condition could account for a depression so stubborn and dangerous — L.C.Douglas
3. : hard, stiff, or rigid in texture or substance
in a lapidary inscription … shapes easy to cut in stubborn material would be his chief concern — F.W.Goudy
gathering force … to break the stubborn , granite headlands — American Guide Series: Maine
4. : performed or carried on in a stubborn manner
a result of long and stubborn fighting — Times Literary Supplement
made a stubborn living from repertory troupes for 8 years — Current Biography
5. : continually and unremittingly existent : enduring
the stubborn life of small religious bodies transplanted in America from Europe — W.L.Sperry
the family … most stubborn of all social units — Edward Sapir
a stubborn tradition of hope — A.M.Schlesinger b.1917
in the face of stubborn facts — Norman Kelman
Synonyms: see obstinate
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to make stubborn