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cussedness

cussedness

1 9.9
A stubborn attitude of refusing to do what others want
  • noun
  • /ˈkʌsɪdnəs/
  • UK
translation icon : terquedad
  • However, the law must also deal with the irrational and with those who seek uneconomic goals such as revenge, morality, immorality, lust, or sheer cussedness.

Examples

  • For still others, it simply reflects the cussedness of one of history's most stubborn (or as the Bible puts it, "stiff-necked") peoples.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Some Danish news programmes stated that Obama was going to prevent another recession just by his sheer cussedness.

    Blog text (3)
  • I won't even remember the fancy gals I dally with... ...or the men I carve up just out of pure cussedness... ...any more than I'll remember you.

  • I happen to use wired connections at home out of general cussedness (old router that works just fine... and funky grandfathered power that fried past wireless modems).

    Blog text (22)
  • His cussedness made it difficult for them to work together, as he often disagreed with every suggestion.

  • The team's cussedness led them to resist any changes, even those that could improve their performance.

  • She expressed her cussedness by refusing to listen to anyone's advice, insisting she knew best.

Synonyms

stubbornness
vscussedness
21 3.6

Refusing to change your mind or actions even when there are good reasons

adds a deliberate oppositional intent rather than mere reluctance
obstinacy
vscussedness
3 7.6

Refusing to change your mind or actions even when others ask you to

shows more deliberate contrariness and disagreeable willfulness
contrariness
vscussedness
1 7.7

A habit where someone does the opposite of what others want on purpose

is a stubborn oppositional attitude with stronger deliberate willfulness
obstinance
vscussedness
1 7.9

Being stubborn and refusing to change your mind

is similar but focuses more on deliberate contrary attitude
orneriness
vscussedness
  • Informal
1 9.9

Being easily annoyed, stubborn, and hard to get along with

leans more toward purposeful contrariness rather than just moodiness
obdurateness
vscussedness
9.8

The quality of being stubborn and not caring about others

keeps the same stubbornness but with more deliberate meanness
disagreeableness
vscussedness
8.1

A quality of being unpleasant and hard to get along with that makes people avoid you

is more about willful opposition rather than general unpleasantness

Antonyms

171 5.0

Obeying rules or orders from people in charge

A willingness to work with other people to reach a common goal

How Stubborn

cussedness
  • UK
1 9.9
obstinacy
3 7.6
resistance
214 4.0
reluctance
68 3.6

Surface Forms

cussedness singular
cussednesses plural

Morphology

cussedness = cussed (semi-transparent) = cuss + ed + ness

The noun is a regular -ness formation from the adjective 'cussed', but the adjective itself has a colloquial and semantically specialized meaning, so the overall sense is only partly predictable.

Etymology

Cussedness comes from cussed, a dialect form of cursed and the same root as curse ('a bad wish' or 'to wish harm'). People used cussed for someone who acted 'set against help' or who refused to change, so cussedness means being stubborn or contrary on purpose.