People and roles

Synonyms for stubborn

Synonyms for stubborn: obstinate and refractory. Every one of them is a hand audited pair from the Synonym Stack word bank, shown below in the sense it fits, in a real sentence, and beside the words that only look close.

2 synonyms · Tier 2, Treeline · 1 sense · adjective · 1 reason line · a wrong tile in 2 puzzles

The 2 synonyms for stubborn

Interchangeable with stubborn in this sense

Audited under stubborn's own entry, so the meaning quoted is the one stubborn carries in that sense.

obstinateadjective, in the sense "refusing to change one's mind or course of action"

Recorded from the other side of the pair

These entries were written under the other word and name stubborn as the true synonym, so the sense quoted is theirs.

refractoryrefractory is an adjective in the sense "not responding to treatment"

one of these comes from stubborn's own entry in the bank, and one was audited from the other word's side of the pair. Both directions were read by a human, and only the sense quoted differs.

The senseadjectiveTier 2, TreelinePeople and roles

refusing to change one's mind or course of action.

Grandpa was stubborn about the thermostat, refusing to change the temperature no matter how much we complained.

One sentence, one sense. Without it the word could be read three other ways.

The true synonym

obstinate

Same sentence, swapped: Grandpa was obstinate about the thermostat, refusing to change the temperature no matter how much we complained.

Close but different

These three are the other tiles the game puts on screen for this sense, and the note above says why the closest of them fails. None is a synonym for stubborn in the sentence quoted.

flexible
agreeable
forgetful

Where stubborn turns up in the game

stubborn is the word under test in one puzzle, at Tier 2, Treeline. It also sits on the board as one of the three wrong tiles in two other puzzles, where the answer is a different word entirely.

The puzzles where stubborn is the trap

skittishadjective, Tier 2, Treeline. The answer there is jumpy, in the sense "easily frightened or startled; nervously timid", and stubborn is one of the three tiles that lose.
constantadjective, Tier 5, Summit. The answer there is changeless, in the sense "unvarying in nature", with stubborn sitting one tile away.

Play stubborn

The bank on this page is the bank the game plays from, so stubborn reaches you as a board rather than a definition: the sentence first, four tiles, and the meaning after you choose.

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Compiled by Fable, Editor, Synonym Stack

The entry behind this page was written for the Synonym Stack bank rather than derived from WordNet, and it passed an adversarial check before shipping. No sentence here is generated at deploy time.

Read nextThe whole library →

The ring widens as it goes, from people and roles at Treeline outward to the whole bank.

offspringnounissuethe immediate descendants of a personTreeline opponentnounadversarya person one competes or contends against.TreelineHas a reason line outcastnounpariaha person rejected or excluded by a social groupTreelineHas a reason line privatelyadverbconfidentiallyin a manner not observed or heard by others; confidentiallyTreelineHas a reason line federaladjectiveunionbeing of or having to do with the northern United States and those loyal to the Union during the American Civil WarFoothills fellownouncolleaguea person who is member of one's class or professionFoothills2 sensesHas a reason line figurenoun, verbnamea well-known or notable personFoothills2 sensesHas a reason line craftverbfashionto make or produce with skill and careTreelineHas a reason line

The wrong tile gets explained too

Synonym Stack plays from this exact bank. stubborn carries 1 written reason line, and the game shows them the moment a round ends, whichever tile you tapped.

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