Meaning & use
set in your ways
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
Unwilling to change your habits or opinions, especially because you have had them for a long time.
Grammar: Used after be, become, or get: She is set in her ways. The possessive changes: set in my/your/his/her/our/their ways.
Patterns
- be set in your ways
- become set in your ways
- get set in your ways
My grandfather is set in his ways and refuses to try a smartphone.
People can get set in their ways if they do the same job for thirty years.
She's not set in her ways; she loves trying new restaurants.
Common combinations
- be set in your ways
- He's set in his ways and won't move house now.
- get set in your ways
- You get set in your ways as you grow older.
- a bit set in your ways
- She's a bit set in her ways about cooking.
- rather set in your ways
- They're rather set in their ways and never travel.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inflexible
- This adjective means unwilling to change in general; set in your ways is more specific to long-held personal habits.
- stubborn
- Stubborn is stronger and more negative, suggesting someone refuses to listen; set in your ways is often neutral or mildly disapproving.
Opposites
Commonly confused: set in your ways or set in stone?
set in your ways vs set in stone
Set in stone means fixed and impossible to change, usually for plans or rules, not for a person's habits.
Practice
Which sentence uses set in your ways correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase describes a person who does not like change, so 'My uncle is set in his ways' fits. The other options confuse it with set a meeting/table/alarm, which are different verbs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “set in your ways”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.