obstinance

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They did not do so, thanks to a time-honored Washington combination of obstinance, reticence, and cowardice.

From Slate • Jul. 7, 2025

Father Ariel is no longer at the parish — I don’t know many of the priests there anymore, my connection to the parish steadily eroded by distance, time and sheer obstinance on my part.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2024

Initially, Pádraic’s obstinance is played for dark comedy but then gives way to a tragic melancholy that Farrell — one of his generation’s best actors — conveys with anger, confusion and deep sadness.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2022

Her obstinance, becoming an unwed mother at a time when they were shunted elsewhere, creates a heap of trouble for her in a world nowhere ready for her mind, character or ambition.

From Washington Post • Apr. 5, 2022

Yet in that glare I sometimes detected a flicker of approval, as if this streak of independence, this refusal to be shaped by him reflected his own obstinance.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston