different between obstinate vs constant

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 Middle English constant, from Old French constant, from Latin constantem, accusative of constans, from constare (“to stand firm”). Displaced native Old English singal.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?nst?nt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?k?nst?nt/

Adjective

constant (comparative more constant, superlative most constant)

1. Unchanged through time or space; permanent.
2. Consistently recurring over time; persistent.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:continuous
3. Steady in purpose, action, feeling, etc.

   • Both loving one fair maid, they yet remained constant friends.

   • His gifts, his constant courtship, nothing gained.

4. Firm; solid; not fluid.
   • 1660, Robert Boyle, New Experiments Physico-Mechanical: Touching the Spring of the Air and their Effects

     If […] you mix them, you may turn these two fluid liquors into a constant body.

5. (obsolete) Consistent; logical.
6. (computing, complexity theory) Bounded above by a constant.

Synonyms

• (unchanged through time or space): nonchanging, unaltering, unvarying; see also Thesaurus:changeless

Translations

Noun

constant (plural constants)

1. That which is permanent or invariable.
2. (algebra) A quantity that remains at a fixed value throughout a given discussion.
3. (sciences) Any property of an experiment, determined numerically, that does not change under given circumstances.
4. (computing) An identifier that is bound to an invariant value; a fixed value given a name to aid in readability of source code.

Translations

Related terms

• constantly (adv)
• constancy (n)

See also

• (computing) literal

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin c?nst?ns.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /kons?tant/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /kuns?tan/
• Rhymes: -ant

Adjective

constant (masculine and feminine plural constants)

1. constant

   Antonym: inconstant

Derived terms

• constantment
• inconstant

Related terms

• constància

Noun

constant f (plural constants)

1. constant

Further reading

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

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French constant, from Latin c?nst?ns.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?n?st?nt/, /?k?n.st?nt/
• Hyphenation: con?stant
• Rhymes: -?nt

Adjective

constant (comparative constanter, superlative constantst)

1. constant, invariable
2. constant, continuous, unceasing

Inflection

Derived terms

• constante
• constantheid

French

Etymology

From Latin constans.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??s.t??/
• Homophone: constants

Adjective

constant (feminine singular constante, masculine plural constants, feminine plural constantes)

1. constant

Derived terms

• constamment

Related terms

• constance

Further reading

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

Latin

Verb

c?nstant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of c?nst?

Romanian

Etymology

From French constant, from Latin constans.

Adjective

constant m or n (feminine singular constant?, masculine plural constan?i, feminine and neuter plural constante)

1. constant

Declension