hidebound

adjective

hide·​bound ˈhīd-ˌbau̇nd 

1

of a domestic animal : having a dry skin lacking in pliancy and adhering closely to the underlying flesh

2

: having an inflexible or ultraconservative character

Did you know?

Hidebound has its origins in agriculture. The word, which appeared in English as hyde bounde in the 16th century, originally described cattle that, due to illness or poor feeding, had skin that clung to the skeleton and could not be pinched, loosened, or worked with the fingers. Hidebound has also been applied to humans - both literally, to describe people with tight skin, and figuratively. In its earliest figurative usage, hidebound meant "stingy" or "miserly." That sense has since fallen out of use, but a second figurative usage, describing people who are rigid or unyielding in their actions or beliefs, lives on in our language today.

Synonyms

• archconservative
• brassbound
• button-down
• buttoned-down
• conservative
• die-hard
• mossbacked
• old-fashioned
• old-line
• old-school
• orthodox
• paleoconservative
• reactionary
• standpat
• traditional
• traditionalistic
• ultraconservative
• unprogressive

Examples of hidebound in a Sentence

the hidebound innkeeper refused to see the need for a website, insisting that the inn had done without one for over 150 years

Recent Examples on the Web

Those fired were not hidebound deep state bureaucrats merely slurping from the federal trough. —Southern California News Group Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2025

Belatedly, political classes (and some of Japan’s huge industrial conglomerates) are realizing the economic value, employment potential and soft power impact of a less hidebound and risk-averse film and TV industry. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 3 Nov. 2024

For a moment, bodies as hidebound as the Supreme Court and the papacy looked as if they might be rehabbed into vehicles for social justice. —Nate Jones, Vulture, 20 Aug. 2024

The hedge fund blames Southwest leaders, portraying them as hidebound and insensitive to changing consumer tastes. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hidebound

• aboveground
• battleground
• belowground
• paperbound
• turnaround
• ultrasound
• underground
• wraparound
• abound
• aground
• around
• astound

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Kids Definition

hidebound

adjective

hide·​bound -ˌbau̇nd 

1

: having a dry skin adhering closely to the underlying flesh

a hidebound horse

2

: stubbornly unwilling to change

Medical Definition

hidebound

adjective

hide·​bound ˈhīd-ˌbau̇nd 

1

: having a dry skin lacking in pliancy and adhering closely to the underlying flesh

—used of domestic animals

2

: having scleroderma

—used of human beings