intransigence

C1 Topic:Cause, Change & Process

Also spelled intransigeance

US /ɪnˈtrænsɪdʒəns/ UK /ɪnˈtrænsɪdʒəns/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
refusal to change one's views or to agree about something

His intransigence on the issue made negotiations difficult.
2

noun
stubbornness or inflexibility in attitude or behavior

The intransigence of both parties led to a stalemate.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · refusal to change one's... stubbornness obstinacy inflexibility rigidityunyieldingness

2 noun · stubbornness or... stubbornness obstinacy inflexibility rigidity

Opposites

flexibility compromise compliance

Etymology

From Latin in- ("not") + transigere ("to come to an agreement, to settle"), via Late Latin intransigentia ("uncompromising attitude") and French intransigence into Modern English, meaning refusal to compromise.

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Word Formation & Derivatives

# intransigence

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ɪnˈtrænsɪdʒəns
**IPA (UK):** ɪnˈtrænsɪdʒəns

## Meanings
1. refusal to change one's views or to agree about something
2. stubbornness or inflexibility in attitude or behavior

## Examples
- His intransigence on the issue made negotiations difficult.
- The intransigence of both parties led to a stalemate.

## Synonyms
- stubbornness
- obstinacy
- inflexibility
- rigidity
- unyieldingness

## Antonyms
- flexibility
- compromise
- compliance

## Etymology
From Latin in- ("not") + transigere ("to come to an agreement, to settle"), via Late Latin intransigentia ("uncompromising attitude") and French intransigence into Modern English, meaning refusal to compromise.

## AI Etymology
Intransigence comes from Latin in- ("not") + transigere ("to come to an agreement, to settle"), via Late Latin intransigentia ("uncompromising attitude") and French intransigence into Modern English, meaning refusal to compromise. In current use it is a noun meaning "refusal to change one's views or to agree about something". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. As a result, the modern word is best read as a negative, privative, or reversative formation built on a historically older base.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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intransigence

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