Standard Lemma guide

intransigent

adj · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɪnˈtɹæn.sə.d͡ʒənt/
  • /ɪnˈtɹæn.zə.d͡ʒənt/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N T R AE1 N S AH0 JH AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: IH2 N T R AE1 N Z AH0 JH AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Unwilling to compromise or moderate a position; unreasonable; stubborn.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: intractable; see also Thesaurus:obstinate
  • Don't waste your time trying to change his mind: he's completely intransigent.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: intractable, adamant, ardent, grim, bent on, bloody-minded, bullheaded, certain, chronic, confirmed, determined, diehard, dogged, hard-hearted, hard-nosed, hardheaded, headstrong, immovable, incalcitrant, inflexible, irrefragable, insistent, intransigent, intrepid, inveterate, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, obstreperous, peevish, peremptory, persistent, pertinacious, pigheaded, recalcitrant, refractory, resolute, resolved, rigid, self-willed, stalwart, staunch, steadfast, steady, stubborn, stubborn as a mule, sullen, tenacious, terminal, thran, thwart, tough, truculent, unbending, uncompromising, unyielding, vehement, wilful, willful

Antonyms: moderate, reasonable, transigent

2

noun

Meaning 2

A person who is intransigent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: intransigentist

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, reason- W.Churchill

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he is adamant in his refusal to change his mind
  • Cynthia was inexorable; she would have none of him
  • an intransigent conservative opposed to every liberal tendency

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: adamant, adamantine, inexorable

Antonyms: none provided

History

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”).

Across languages

Translations

45 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: непримирим (neprimirim) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Bulgarian: безкомпромисен (bezkompromisen) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Catalan: intransigent — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Chinese Cantonese: 唔妥協嘅 /唔妥协嘅 (m4 to5 hip3 ge3) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Chinese Cantonese: 唔讓步嘅 /唔让步嘅 (m4 joeng6 bou6 ge3) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Danish: uforsonlig — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Danish: umedgørlig — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Danish: genstridig — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Dutch: onverzettelijk — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Finnish: myöntymätön — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Finnish: jyrkkä — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • French: intransigeant — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • French: impitoyable — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • German: kompromisslos — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • German: intransigent — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • German: unnachgiebig — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • German: hartleibig — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • German: unbeugsam — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • German: unversöhnlich — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • German: stur — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • German: unkooperativ — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Greek: αδιάλλακτος (adiállaktos) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Hebrew: בלתי מתפשר (bilti mitpasher) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Hungarian: hajthatatlan — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Hungarian: tántoríthatatlan — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Hungarian: intranzigens — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Icelandic: þrjóskur — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Māori: upoko mārō — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Māori: whakaioio — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Persian: معاند (mo'âned) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Polish: nieprzejednany — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Polish: nieustępliwy — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Portuguese: intransigente — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Russian: непрекло́нный (nepreklónnyj) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Russian: непримири́мый (neprimirímyj) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Serbo-Croatian: intransigentan — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Serbo-Croatian: beskompromisan — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Spanish: intransigente — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Swedish: omedgörlig — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Ukrainian: непримире́нний (neprymyrénnyj) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Ukrainian: непримири́мий (neprymyrýmyj) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Ukrainian: безкомпромі́сний (bezkompromísnyj) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Ukrainian: непохи́тний (nepoxýtnyj) — unwilling to compromise or moderate a position, mad
  • Polish: uparciuch — intransigent person
  • Spanish: intransigente — intransigent person