Meaning & use
stiff-necked
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Meaning
adjectivenot comparabledisapprovingliterary
Unwilling to change your attitude or obey others; stubborn and proud.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: 'a stiff-necked official' or 'he was stiff-necked'.
Patterns
- a stiff-necked person
- be stiff-necked about something
The report describes a stiff-necked leadership that refuses all advice.
He was too stiff-necked to admit that he had made a mistake.
Her stiff-necked pride kept her from apologizing.
Common combinations
- a stiff-necked refusal
- Their stiff-necked refusal to negotiate made things worse.
- too stiff-necked to
- He was too stiff-necked to say sorry.
- stiff-necked pride
- Stiff-necked pride cost them the deal.
- a stiff-necked attitude
- That stiff-necked attitude won't win friends.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stubborn
- 'Stubborn' is the everyday word for refusing to change; 'stiff-necked' is stronger and sounds literary or disapproving.
- obstinate
- 'Obstinate' is a formal word for stubbornness and does not carry the religious tone of 'stiff-necked'.
- headstrong
- 'Headstrong' stresses acting on your own will without listening to others, often of young people.
- arrogant
- 'Arrogant' stresses feeling superior, while 'stiff-necked' stresses refusing to bend or obey.
Opposites
Word family
- stiff neck noun
- A painful, tight neck, or (in the Bible) stubborn pride.
Commonly confused: stiff-necked or stiff neck? stiff-necked or hard-nosed?
stiff-necked vs stiff neck
'A stiff neck' is a physical pain in the neck; 'stiff-necked' is a figurative description of a proud, stubborn person.
stiff-necked vs hard-nosed
'Hard-nosed' means tough and practical, not stubborn or proud.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'stiff-necked' in its usual figurative sense?
Choose one answer.
'Stiff-necked' describes a proud, stubborn person, so option 0 fits. Option 1 confuses it with the physical 'stiff neck'; option 2 uses it as a noun; option 3 uses it as a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stiff-necked”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.