Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The quality or state of being pertinacious.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The character of being pertinacious; resoulute or unyieding adherence, as to an opinion, purpose, design, course of action, etc.; persistency; obstinacy; resoluteness: as, to cling with pertinacity to one's purpose.
- noun Synonyms See
pertinacious .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The quality or state of being pertinacious; obstinacy; perseverance; persistency.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The state or characteristic of being
pertinacious .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun persistent determination
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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The forward cylinder was depending on that unknown force men call the pertinacity of materials, which now and then balances that other heartbreaking power, the perversity of inanimate things.
The Day's Work - Volume 1 Rudyard Kipling 1900
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Certainly, if the confederates of this roving gipsy were so pertinacious in tormenting poor weak Mr. Mompesson, their pertinacity is a most extraordinary instance of what revenge is capable of.
Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds Charles Mackay 1851
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Certainly, if the confederates of this roving gipsy were so pertinacious in tormenting poor weak Mr. Mompesson, their pertinacity is a most extraordinary instance of what revenge is capable of.
Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions — Volume 2 Charles Mackay 1851
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Under the seal of confession he had been intrusted with a secret to which in his conversations with me he could make only indirect allusions, to bring me to understand that my pertinacity was a crime, and that the only honourable course was to yield.
Mauprat George Sand 1840
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He stuck to his original proposition with that dogged but convenient pertinacity which is armed against all conviction, and deaf to all reasoning.
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She had the kind of pertinacity that sever admits being out of depth, the happy buoyancy that does not require to feel the bottom under one's feet.
The Dwelling Place of Light — Volume 3 Winston Churchill 1909
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She had the kind of pertinacity that sever admits being out of depth, the happy buoyancy that does not require to feel the bottom under one's feet.
Project Gutenberg Complete Works of Winston Churchill Winston Churchill 1909
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She had the kind of pertinacity that sever admits being out of depth, the happy buoyancy that does not require to feel the bottom under one's feet.
The Dwelling Place of Light — Complete Winston Churchill 1909
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I object to something which is conceited and small-minded; but which also has that kind of pertinacity which always belongs to lunatics.
The Appetite of Tyranny Including Letters to an Old Garibaldian 1905
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Being an honest man himself, he probably believes in the honesty of his friends, and supports them with a certain pertinacity which is a characteristic quality of his, better perhaps in the conqueror of the South than the President of the nation ....
chained_bear commented on the word pertinacity
"'Sir,' said Stephen, 'I read novels with the utmost pertinacity. I look upon them—I look upon good novels—as a very valuable part of literature, conveying more exact and finely-distinguished knowledge of the human heart and mind than almost any other...'"
--Patrick O'Brian, The Nutmeg of Consolation, 297
March 9, 2008
sionnach commented on the word pertinacity
Ya know, I'm in complete agreement with Stephen on this point. A good novel is a fine thing. But a little nutmeg goes a long, long way. if I want to read this book, presumably I have the option of buying it for myself. Being forcefed huge chunks of it whenever I log in to Wordie is not actually my idea of a good time.
Yeah, I'm grumpy. It's tax preparation time. I'm going away until I can manage to be more civil. But c_b, please have mercy. oh, never mind. It's a free country.
Grumpy.
March 9, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word pertinacity
Sionnach, I responded to this comment on your other comment on my profile. If in fact you haven't gone away yet, you might see it there. Hope tax season treats you kindly.
March 9, 2008
oroboros commented on the word pertinacity
pert in a city
November 21, 2013