Fill in the blank with the correctly spelt word. Despite overwhelming evidence, he remained ___ in his beliefs.

Correct — B. The word is obstinate, o-b-s-t-i-n-a-t-e, said in three syllables: ob-sti-nate.

Every consonant is single. The prefix is ob- with one b, as in obstruct and obstacle, and the ending is -ate with one t, as in fortunate and separate.

The sense fits the blank too: despite overwhelming evidence he would not change his beliefs, which is what obstinate means → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  obstinatte — obstinatte doubles the t. The ending is -ate with a single t, as in fortunate, desperate and separate.
• (c)
  obsteinate — obsteinate slips an e into the second syllable. That syllable is -sti-, with a lone i.
• (d)
  obbstinate — obbstinate doubles the b. The prefix is ob- with one b, as in obstruct, obstacle and obtain.

Obstinate means stubbornly refusing to change your opinion or course of action. It comes from Latin obstinatus, "determined, stubborn", the past participle of obstinare, "to persist".

The Latin origin explains the spelling. The prefix ob- keeps one b, and Latin past participles in -atus give English adjectives ending in -ate with one t: obstinate, fortunate, desperate, separate.

Each misspelling adds a single letter, a second t, an e or a second b, so check the word letter by letter.

Key facts

• Obstinate: stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action.
• Its noun is obstinacy.
• It comes from Latin obstinatus, past participle of obstinare, "to persist".
• Near synonyms: stubborn, obdurate, intransigent, headstrong.

Common traps

• Doubling a consonant that sounds strong in speech, the b of ob- or the t of -ate
• Skimming past a letter added mid-word, as in obsteinate

No directly related past PYQ was found.