obduracy
/ˈɑbdʊɹəsi/noun
obduracy is spelled O-B-D-U-R-A-C-Y: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 38 million words in written English, the 189,524th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, obduracy means “The state of being obdurate, intractable, or stubbornly inflexible” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of obduracy is obduracies.
How many letters and syllables are in obduracy?
| Letters | 8: O-B-D-U-R-A-C-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 38 million words; the 189,524th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is obduracy?
Obduracy appears about once in every 38 million words in written English, the 189,524th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce obduracy?
- UK /ˈɒb.dʊ.ɹə.si/
- UK /-djʊ-/
- US /ˈɑbdʊɹəsi/
Obduracy has 4 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-obduracy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of obduracy
- obduracies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does obduracy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of being obdurate, intractable, or stubbornly inflexible.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Obduracy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense The state of being obdurate, intractable, or stubbornly inflexible:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | entêtement, obstination |
| German | Verstocktheit |
| Portuguese | obstinação |
| Spanish | obstinación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does obduracy come from?
From obdur(ate) + -acy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).