obstinate
/ˈɒb.stɪ.nət/
"obstinate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“obstinate” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #40,365 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #40,365
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course, usually with implied unreasonableness; persistent.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | obstinate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɒb.stɪ.nət/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #40,365 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “obstinate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for obstinate is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɒb.stɪ.nət/. Corpus data places it at rank #40,365 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for obstinate, with forms such as "bostinate", "obbstinate", and "obsitnate". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English obstinat(e) (“obstinate, stubborn”), from Latin obstinātus, perfect passive participle of obstinō (“set one's mind firmly upon, resolve”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ob (“before”) + *stinare, from stare (“to sta… The correct English form is obstinate, spelled O-B-S-T-I-N-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1Stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course, usually with implied unreasonableness; persistent.
- 2Not easily subdued or removed.
- 3Typical of an obstinate person; fixed and unmoving.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English obstinat(e) (“obstinate, stubborn”), from Latin obstinātus, perfect passive participle of obstinō (“set one's mind firmly upon, resolve”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ob (“before”) + *stinare, from stare (“to stand”). Doublet of ostinato.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bostinate,obbstinate,obsitnate,obsstinate,obstiante,obstinaet,obstinatte,obstinnate,obstintae,obstniate,obsttinate,obtsinate,osbtinate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obstinate - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “obstinate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-B-S-T-I-N-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɒb.stɪ.nət/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.