''intransigent'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260915190735-00-⌔

intransigent - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Adjective

intransigent (comparative more intransigent, superlative most intransigent)

• Unwilling to compromise or moderate a position; unreasonable; stubborn.
  • ✤ Antonyms: moderate, reasonable, transigent (uncommon)
  • ✤ Near-synonyms: intractable; see also Thesaurus: obstinate
  • ✤ Don’t waste your time trying to change his mind: he’s completely intransigent.
  • ✤ Since I have been asked to do this in very brief compass, the harsh tone and terse style of my presentation will make my contentions appear more dogmatic and intransigent than I should wish them to be.¹
  • ✤ Much of the new integration will come in the school districts that have been the most intransigent since the Supreme Court outlawed school segregation in its landmark 1954 decision.²
  • ✤ On the Spanish side, the war increased the anti-Cuban animosity and distrust felt by the most intransigent peninsulares.³

Noun

intransigent (plural intransigents)

• A person who is intransigent.
  • ✤ Synonym: intransigentist

Etymology

Borrowed from French intransigeant, from Spanish intransigente, from Latin in- (“un-, not”) + trānsigēns, present participle of trānsigō (“to come to an understanding”), from trāns (“across”) +‎ agō (“to do”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪnˈtɹæn.sə.d͡ʒənt/, /ɪnˈtɹæn.zə.d͡ʒənt/
• Audio (US): 🔊
• Hyphenation: in‧tran‧si‧gent

Printed 2026-09-15.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

1. 1966, H. Feigl, “Is Science Relevant to Theology?”, in Inquiries and Provocations: Selected Writings, published 2012, →ISBN: ↩

2. 1970 August 31, John Berbers, “Nixon Aides Voice Integration Hope”, in The New York Times ‎${}^{[1]}$, →ISSN: ↩

3. 1993, Leslie Bethell, Cuba: A Short History, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 27: ↩