1
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
the obdurate refusal of the crotchety old man to let the neighborhood kids retrieve their stray ball from his backyard
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stubborn
sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion
an obdurate farmer who could never be convinced to try a different method of fertilization
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of obdurate
Most of these initiatives met obdurate resistance from more powerful sectors of the state, and by the end of Khatami’s second term, in 2005, the reform movement had lost much of its momentum.
—
Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2025
Ipswich proved obdurate and then generous opponents — Newcastle’s 78 per cent possession was the highest by any team in a Premier League match this season — and their relegation was confirmed by this 3-0 defeat.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Advertisement None of that has immunized the lowly smelt from its most obdurate enemy: partisan folly.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2025
Stalin’s apprenticeship in high-stakes diplomacy had shown him to be cunning but also opportunistic, avaricious, obdurate.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2017
See All Example Sentences for obdurate
Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2025
Ipswich proved obdurate and then generous opponents — Newcastle’s 78 per cent possession was the highest by any team in a Premier League match this season — and their relegation was confirmed by this 3-0 defeat.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Advertisement None of that has immunized the lowly smelt from its most obdurate enemy: partisan folly.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2025
Stalin’s apprenticeship in high-stakes diplomacy had shown him to be cunning but also opportunistic, avaricious, obdurate.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2017
See All Example Sentences for obdurate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obdurate
Adjective
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Noah Thomas’s life takes a dangerous turn when a chance reunion with an old high school friend, Parker Coleman, entangles him in a ruthless crime ring.—
Jon Stojan,
Variety,
18 June 2026
-
Sean Connery first portrayed the legendary spy as a confident and ruthless Cold War warrior, while Roger Moore added camp and a gentlemanly touch to the role.—
Gieson Cacho,
Mercury News,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
Dealing with stubborn dark spots?—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
23 June 2026
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But when the adults decide to cancel Christmas and the magical star fades away, a stubborn little bird named Pikkuli sets off on a winter adventure with friends to find the Starlight Reindeer and bring back the light.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
22 June 2026
Adjective
-
Having catalogued the Black Death’s horrifying effects, Ibn Khatima went on to outline a series of preventative measures and active treatments designed to combat this merciless scourge.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 May 2026
-
The jokes on social media will be endless, and opposing fans will be merciless.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 May 2026
Adjective
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Advertisement Throughout negotiations, Tehran has been adamant that any cease-fire with Washington must also end the hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, and that any permanent truce must lead to Israel withdrawing its forces from southern Lebanon.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
19 June 2026
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Trump and Vance have been adamant that the fund will not be financed by American dollars.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
Adjective
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Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.—
Emily Cox,
ARTnews.com,
22 May 2026
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Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.—
Natasha Bazika,
Martha Stewart,
9 May 2026
Adjective
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The Federal Reserve’s steadfast period of low interest rates in the 2000s was criticized as contributing to a housing bubble in the 2000s, followed by the mortgage crisis of 2007 and the Great Recession the following year.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
22 June 2026
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With the almighty Sun highlighting your 7th House of Partnership, commitments benefit from structure that includes realistic timelines and steadfast follow-through.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 June 2026
Adjective
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The companies say the Ruta Block 3 is designed for strategic deep-strike missions against high-value and hardened targets.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
19 June 2026
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However, this breadth becomes a liability in hardened enterprise workflows that aren’t open-ended.—
Anshul Gupta,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obdurate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obdurate. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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