Stŭb'born, a.
a. [O. Eng. stubborne, stibborne, stibbern, from stub.]
Sense 1. Unreasonably obstinate; inflexibly fixed in opinion; not to be moved or persuaded by reasons; inflexible; refractory; as, a stubborn son; a stubborn mind or soul.
Sense 2. Persevering; persisting; steady; constant. “Stubborn attention.” Locke.
Sense 3. Stiff; not flexible; as, a stubborn bow. “Before a gloom of stubborn-shafted oaks.” Tennyson.
Take a plant of stubborn oak. Dryden.
Sense 4. Enduring without complaint; hardy; firm; as, stubborn Stoics. Swift.
Sense 5. Harsh; rough; rugged. [Obs.]
Sense 6. Not easily melted or worked; refractory; as, a stubborn ore or metal.
Syn.—Obstinate; inflexible; obdurate; headstrong; stiff; hardy; firm; refractory; intractable; rugged; contumacious; heady.—STUBBORN, OBSTINATE. Stubborn (firm or fixed like a stub or stock) describes a high degree of obstinacy. He who is obstinate is one who will not yield to the appeals we make to his reason and his better feelings. He who is stubborn grows more obstinate the more clearly his unreasonableness is exposed, and the more powerfully his feelings are addressed.
Yield, Except you mean, with obstinate repulse, To slay your sovereign. Shak.
The queen is obstinate, Stubborn to justice, apt to accuse it, and Disdainful to be tried by it. Shak.