different between obstinate vs insensible

English

Alternative forms

• obstinant (proscribed)

Etymology

From Middle English obstinate, obstinat, from Latin obstin?tus, past participle of obstin? (“set one's mind firmly upon, resolve”), from ob (“before”) + *stinare, from stare (“to stand”). Doublet of ostinato.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??b.st?.n?t/, /??b.st?.n?t/
• (US) enPR: äb'st?n?t, IPA^(key): /??b.st?.n?t/, /??b.st?.n?t/
• Hyphenation (US): ob?sti?nate

Adjective

obstinate (comparative more obstinate, superlative most obstinate)

1. Stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course, usually with implied unreasonableness; persistent.
   • 1686, Montaigne, translated by Charles Cotton, "That men are justly punished for being obstinate in the defence of a fort that is not in reason to be defended",

     From this consideration it is that we have derived the custom, in times of war, to punish […] those who are obstinate to defend a place that by the rules of war is not tenable […]

   • 1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, Chapter 21:

     […] the junior Osborne was quite as obstinate as the senior: when he wanted a thing, quite as firm in his resolution to get it; and quite as violent when angered, as his father in his most stern moments

2. (of inanimate things) Not easily subdued or removed.
   • 1925-29, Mahadev Desai (translator), M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Part IV, Chapter XXIX,

     Now it happened that Kasturbai […] had again begun getting haemorrhage, and the malady seemed to be obstinate.

3. (of a facial feature) Typical of an obstinate person; fixed and unmoving.

Synonyms

• (stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course): bloody-minded, persistent, stubborn, pertinacious, see also Thesaurus:obstinate
• (not easily subdued): persistent, unrelenting, inexorable

Derived terms

• obstinacy
• obstinately
• obstinateness

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• obstinate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• obstinate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• obstinate at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• obestatin, obtainest

Latin

Participle

obstin?te

1. vocative masculine singular of obstin?tus

References

• obstinate in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• obstinate in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• obstinate in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

English

Etymology

From Old French insensible, from Late Latin ?ns?nsibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?s?n.s?.bl?/
• Hyphenation: in?sen?si?ble

Adjective

insensible (comparative more insensible, superlative most insensible)

1. Unable to be perceived by the senses.
   • They fall away, / And languish with insensible decay.

2. Incapable or deprived of physical sensation.
3. Unable to be understood; unintelligible.
4. Not sensible or reasonable; meaningless.
   • 1736, Matthew Hale, Historia Placitorum Coronæ

     If it make the indictment be insensible or uncertain, […] it shall be quashed.

5. Incapable of mental feeling; indifferent.

   • Lost in their loves, insensible of shame.

   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Modern Library Edition (1995), page 138

     In spite of her deep-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man's affection...

6. Incapable of emotional feeling; callous; apathetic.

   Synonym: insensitive

Antonyms

• sensible

Derived terms

• insensibility
• insensibly

Translations

French

Etymology

From Old French insensible, from Late Latin ?ns?nsibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.s??.sibl/
• Homophone: insensibles

Adjective

insensible (plural insensibles)

1. insensible
2. impervious

Further reading

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

Spanish

Etymology

From Late Latin ?ns?nsibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /insen?sible/, [?n.s?n?si.??le]

Adjective

insensible (plural insensibles)

1. insensible, insensitive, callous, cold, tactless

   Antonym: sensible

Related terms

• insensibilidad (possibly derived)

Further reading

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