PERT
Her pert response to the professor’s question made the whole class chuckle.
Fun Fact
“Pert” once meant “clever” in Middle English but evolved to describe liveliness with a hint of sass. A “pert nose” is small and upturned, while a “pert remark” has just enough spunk to be amusing, not offensive.
OB-dur-it
(adjective) Stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action; hardened against moral influence.
Despite overwhelming evidence, he remained obdurate in his denial of wrongdoing.
Late Middle English: from Latin “obduratus,” past participle of “obdurare,” from “ob-” (in opposition) + “durare” meaning “to harden,” from “durus” meaning “hard.”
Fun Fact
Obdurate literally means “hardened against,” suggesting someone who has deliberately calcified their position beyond mere stubbornness. The word appears frequently in religious contexts describing hearts hardened against grace or compassion—Pharaoh’s obdurate heart in biblical narratives exemplifies willful resistance to moral persuasion. Unlike simple stubbornness, obduracy implies active resistance rather than passive inflexibility. Legal scholars describe obdurate defendants who refuse plea deals despite overwhelming evidence. The word shares roots with “durable” and “endurance,” but where those suggest positive persistence, obduracy is persistence in wrongness. Charles Dickens loved “obdurate” for describing misers and villains immune to sympathy. Modern psychology might diagnose severe obduracy as pathological rigidity, though sometimes standing obdurate against popular opinion requires courage rather than indicating vice.
Today's Word Tangential tan-JEN-shul Definition (adjective) Only slightly connected or...
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