adamant
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Very difficult to break, pierce.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
aduhmuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈædəmənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
said of people and their conviction
Firm; unshakeable; unyielding; determined.
of an object
Very difficult to break, pierce, or cut.
noun
An imaginary rock or mineral of impenetrable hardness; a name given to the diamond and other substances of extreme hardness.
An embodiment of impregnable hardness.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (of an object) Very difficult to break, pierce, or cut.
While 'adamant' usually means stubbornly unyielding (like 'firm'), its original meaning, and what's referenced here, is literally 'unbreakable.' This older sense is less common but still appears in descriptions of extremely strong or hard materials.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Fantasy Literature
“The knight's shield was made of an adamant, impenetrable alloy.”
Poetry
“With adamant will, she faced the storm.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: imaginary rock or mineral of impenetrable hardness
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.