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hammer-headed attitude

hammer-headed attitude

8.6
Not willing to change views or listen to others
  • noun
  • /ˈhæmərˌhɛdɪd ˈætɪtjud/
translation icon : actitud terco
  • It's difficult to negotiate with someone who has such a hammer-headed attitude toward compromise.

Examples

  • Her hammer-headed attitude kept her from accepting helpful criticism at work.

  • She approached the problem with a hammer-headed attitude that frustrated her colleagues.

  • Despite repeated advice, he stuck to his hammer-headed attitude and made no changes to his plan.

  • His hammer-headed attitude made it difficult to reach an agreement.

  • Her hammer-headed attitude kept her from accepting helpful criticism at work.

  • He stuck to his hammer-headed attitude despite the team's suggestions for improvement.

  • Negotiating with her was challenging due to her hammer-headed attitude on the issue.

Synonyms

intransigence
vshammer-headed attitude
10 8.7

Refusal to change your mind or to agree with others

is the general stubborn refusal to change or consider other views
pigheadedness
vshammer-headed attitude
  • Informal
1 7.9

Refusing to change your mind even when you are wrong

is similar but describes broader fixed inflexibility rather than intent
bullheadedness
vshammer-headed attitude
1 8.3

Refusing to change ideas or plans even when it is not reasonable

is stubborn while also refusing to consider others' viewpoints
hardheadedness
vshammer-headed attitude
1 7.6

A way of acting that refuses to change your mind because of feelings or others' views

is inflexibility that primarily rejects change or other viewpoints
cementhead approach
vshammer-headed attitude
  • Informal
9.9

A way of doing things that is stubborn and refuses to change

is about a personal refusal to consider different points of view

Antonyms

37 3.0

Ability to bend or change shape without breaking

A willingness to accept new ideas or feedback

How Stubborn

hammer-headed attitude
8.6
pigheadedness
  • Informal
1 7.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

hammer-headed + attitude

The compound 'hammer-headed' uses a metaphor (hammer = hard/forceful; -headed = having a mental trait) so the overall sense 'stubborn, inflexible' can be inferred by analogy with more common forms like 'hard-headed'. However, 'hammer-headed' is less conventional and relies on a figurative extension, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words may only partially predict the exact idiomatic nuance without prior exposure.

Etymology

Hammer-headed attitude may come from the image of a heavy hammer head that only hits one way and does not bend. So, it pictures someone who is 'stubborn' and 'refuses to change' their mind.