different between obdurate vs inflexible

English

Etymology

Mid-15th century, from Latin obduratus (“hardened”), form of obd?r? (“harden”), from ob- (“against”) + d?r? (“harden, render hard”), from durus (“hard”). Compare durable, endure.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??bd????t/, /??bdj???t/, /??bd????t/, /-?t/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??bd(j)???t/, /??bd(j)???t/, /-?t/
• Sometimes accented on the second syllable, especially by the older poets.

Adjective

obdurate (comparative more obdurate, superlative most obdurate)

1. Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent.
   • 1593, Richard Hooker, Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, Book I:

     ... sometimes the very custom of evil making the heart obdurate against whatsoever instructions to the contrary ...

   • 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 3, Act I, sc. 4:

     Art thou obdurate, flinty, hard as steel,

     Nay, more than flint, for stone at rain relenteth?

   • 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book I, lines 56–8

     ... round he throws his baleful eyes

     That witness'd huge affliction and dismay

     Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate:

   • 1818, Percy Bysshe Shelley,"The Revolt of Islam", canto 4, stanza 9, lines 1486-7:

     But custom maketh blind and obdurate

     The loftiest hearts.
2. (obsolete) Physically hardened, toughened.
3. Hardened against feeling; hard-hearted.
   • 1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, Chapter 13:

     I fear the gentleman to whom Miss Amelia's letters were addressed was rather an obdurate critic.

Synonyms

• (stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing): hardened, hard-hearted, impertinent, intractable, unrepentant, unyielding, recalcitrant

Derived terms

• obduracy

Related terms

• durable, duration
• endure, endurance, enduring

Translations

Verb

obdurate (third-person singular simple present obdurates, present participle obdurating, simple past and past participle obdurated)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To harden; to obdure.

References

Anagrams

• taboured

Latin

Verb

obd?r?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of obd?r?

English

Etymology

From Middle French inflexible, from Latin inflexibilis. See also in- +? flexible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?fl?ks?bl?/

Adjective

inflexible (comparative more inflexible, superlative most inflexible)

1. Not flexible; not capable of bending or being bent.

   Synonyms: stiff, rigid, firm, unyielding

2. Not willing to change, e.g. one's opinion or habits.
3. Not able to be changed or adapted to circumstances.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:obstinate
• unflexible

Antonyms

• flexible

Related terms

• inflexibility
• inflexibleness
• inflexibly

Translations

References

• inflexible in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “inflexible”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin inflexiblis.

Adjective

inflexible (epicene, plural inflexibles)

1. inflexible

Antonyms

• flexible

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin inflexiblis.

Adjective

inflexible (masculine and feminine plural inflexibles)

1. inflexible

   Antonym: flexible

Derived terms

• inflexiblement

Related terms

• inflexibilitat

Further reading

• “inflexible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “inflexible” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “inflexible” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “inflexible” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

in- +? flexible

Adjective

inflexible (plural inflexibles)

1. inflexible

Derived terms

• inflexiblement

Related terms

• inflexibilité

Further reading

• “inflexible” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Galician

Alternative forms

• inflexíbel

Etymology

From Latin inflexiblis.

Adjective

inflexible m or f (plural inflexibles)

1. inflexible

Antonyms

• flexible, flexíbel

Derived terms

• inflexiblemente

Related terms

• inflexibilidade

Further reading

• “inflexible” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin inflexiblis.

Adjective

inflexible (plural inflexibles)

1. inflexible

   Antonym: flexible

Derived terms

• inflexiblemente

Related terms

• inflexibilidad

Further reading

• “inflexible” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.