On this page15 sections
- Quick picker
- Words that mean "won't change their mind"
- Words for pride and saving face
- Words for someone who can't take criticism
- Words for someone who thinks they are always right
- Words for refusing to see the facts
- Words for blaming others instead
- Words for a dispute or negotiation
- Phrases and idioms
- Choosing a word: how harsh does it sound?
- What to say to someone who won't admit they're wrong
- Describing a partner, a boss, a child or a public figure
- Words that are easy to misuse here
- Practice
- Quick answers
The everyday word for someone who won’t admit they are wrong is stubborn. Stronger or more precise choices are pigheaded, obstinate, defensive, proud, self-righteous and in denial, and the noun for the person who always thinks they are right is a know-it-all. Which word fits depends on why the person won’t back down: pride, fear of looking foolish, certainty that they are right, or a habit of blaming others.
Below, the words are grouped by that reason, with real sentences, a guide to tone, and phrases for saying it to the person without starting another argument.
Quick picker
| The person… | Words that fit |
|---|---|
| won’t change their mind, whatever you say | stubborn, obstinate, pigheaded, bullheaded, mulish, inflexible |
| is too proud to say “I was wrong” | proud, too proud, stiff-necked, face-saving |
| gets upset or attacks back when criticised | defensive, prickly, thin-skinned, touchy |
| is sure they are always right | self-righteous, opinionated, dogmatic, a know-it-all, infallible (sarcastic) |
| refuses to see the facts | in denial, blinkered, closed-minded, wilfully blind |
| blames someone else instead | blame-shifting, buck-passing, self-justifying |
| gets more extreme when proved wrong | doubles down, digs in (their heels) |
| refuses to compromise in a dispute | intransigent, uncompromising, unbending, adamant |
Words that mean “won’t change their mind”
| Word | Tone | Example |
|---|---|---|
| stubborn | neutral to critical; the everyday word | He’s too stubborn to admit the map was upside down. |
| obstinate | more formal and more critical | She remained obstinate even after the auditor showed her the figures. |
| pigheaded | informal, rude | Don’t be so pigheaded; the sat-nav was right. |
| bullheaded | informal, mainly US | He was bullheaded about the route and we missed the ferry. |
| mulish | literary, humorous | He wore the mulish look of a man who would not be corrected. |
| inflexible, rigid | neutral, formal | Her rigid thinking makes feedback hard to give. |
| headstrong | wilful, often young people | A headstrong teenager rarely admits a parent was right. |
Stubborn is not always an insult: “stubborn courage” and “a stubborn refusal to give up” are compliments. When you mean the person is refusing to admit a mistake, the sentence usually needs to say so: “too stubborn to admit…”, “stubbornly insists…”.
Words for pride and saving face
Many people who won’t admit they are wrong know, privately, that they are. They are protecting their pride or their image.
| Word or phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| too proud | pride stops them admitting it | My dad is too proud to say he got lost. |
| stiff-necked | proud and unwilling to give way (old-fashioned) | The stiff-necked committee would not reverse its decision. |
| save face | avoid looking foolish in front of others | He blamed the software to save face. |
| can’t back down | feels unable to retreat from a position | Once she’d said it in the meeting, she couldn’t back down. |
| ego-driven | acting to protect their self-image | The argument was ego-driven, not about the facts. |
For figurative ways of describing pride itself, see metaphors for pride.
Words for someone who can’t take criticism
| Word | What it suggests | Example |
|---|---|---|
| defensive | treats a correction as an attack | Every time I mention the budget, he gets defensive. |
| thin-skinned | easily hurt by criticism | She’s too thin-skinned to hear that the plan has a flaw. |
| prickly, touchy | quick to take offence | He’s touchy about his cooking, so I said nothing about the salt. |
| argumentative | turns a correction into a fight | He’s so argumentative that admitting a mistake feels like losing. |
Words for someone who thinks they are always right
| Word | Tone | Example |
|---|---|---|
| know-it-all (US also know-all, UK know-all) | informal, critical (a noun) | Nobody likes correcting a know-it-all, because they never thank you. |
| self-righteous | morally sure of themselves | He was self-righteous about the rules until he broke one. |
| opinionated | has strong views and pushes them | She’s opinionated, but she will change her mind if you show her data. |
| dogmatic | treats their beliefs as unquestionable | A dogmatic teacher marks any other method wrong. |
| arrogant | thinks they are better than others | It was arrogant of him to dismiss the engineer’s warning. |
| smug | pleased with themselves | He gave a smug smile, sure he had won the point. |
| “thinks they’re infallible” | sarcastic | She acts as if she’s infallible. |
| Mr / Miss Right (all the time) | joking | Ask Mr Always-Right; he’ll tell you. |
Note that opinionated and smug do not by themselves mean the person won’t admit a mistake: an opinionated person can still say “fair point”. Use them together with a phrase that says so, or pick dogmatic or know-it-all.
Words for refusing to see the facts
- in denial: refusing to accept something true and unwelcome. “He’s in denial about how much the renovation will cost.”
- blinkered (UK) / narrow-minded: seeing only one side. “Her blinkered view ignored the customer complaints.”
- closed-minded: unwilling to consider new ideas. “You can’t win an argument with someone so closed-minded.”
- wilfully blind (US: willfully): choosing not to see. “The board was wilfully blind to the warnings.”
- delusional: strong and informal when said of a mistake (“you’re delusional if you think that’s fine”); avoid it as a casual insult for someone with a mental illness.
Words for blaming others instead
Some people cannot admit fault because they move it onto someone else. The words for this are about the behaviour:
- blame-shifting: “His blame-shifting wore the team down.”
- passing the buck: “Stop passing the buck; you signed the order.”
- self-justifying: always finding a reason why they were right after all.
- making excuses: “She always has an excuse; it’s never her fault.”
There is a full page on this: words for someone who blames others for their mistakes.
Words for a dispute or negotiation
In news, politics and business, the formal words are intransigent, uncompromising, unbending, unyielding and adamant. They describe a position more than a personality, and they do not always mean the person is wrong: “The union remained intransigent on pay” says only that it would not move.
- adamant: firm about a claim. “He was adamant that he had locked the door.” (He may be right.)
- recalcitrant: refusing to obey or cooperate. “A recalcitrant witness refused to answer.”
- obdurate: hard and unmoved, even by pleas (formal). “The landlord remained obdurate.”
Phrases and idioms
| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| dig your heels in | refuse to change your position | When I questioned the plan, he dug his heels in. |
| double down | repeat a claim more strongly after being challenged | Shown the error, she doubled down on it. |
| stick to your guns | keep your opinion (can be positive) | She stuck to her guns, and she was right. |
| won’t budge / won’t back down | will not move from a position | He won’t budge on the date. |
| will die on that hill | will defend a minor point at any cost | He’ll die on that hill over the comma. |
| can never be wrong | sarcastic description of the person | Ask her; she can never be wrong. |
| eat humble pie / eat your words | finally admit you were wrong (the opposite) | After the result, he had to eat his words. |
Someone who disagrees with everything on principle is a slightly different type; see someone who always takes the opposite view.
Choosing a word: how harsh does it sound?
| Gentle | Neutral | Critical | Rude |
|---|---|---|---|
| a little set in their ways | stubborn | obstinate | pigheaded |
| sure of themselves | inflexible | self-righteous | a know-it-all |
| sensitive to criticism | defensive | arrogant | bullheaded |
At work, describe the behaviour rather than the person: “He found it hard to accept the feedback” lands better in a review than “He’s pigheaded.”
What to say to someone who won’t admit they’re wrong
Labels make people more defensive. These lines leave them room to change their mind without losing face:
- “I might be missing something. Can we check the numbers together?”
- “We can both be partly right here.”
- “Let’s look at what happened, not whose fault it was.”
- “I’ve been wrong about this kind of thing before, so let’s test it.”
- “No need to decide now. Have a think and let me know.”
And if they offer you “I’m sorry you feel that way” instead of an apology, that is a classic non-apology; see other ways to say I’m sorry you feel that way.
Describing a partner, a boss, a child or a public figure
| Who | Natural ways to say it |
|---|---|
| a partner or friend | “He can never just say sorry.” “She has to win every argument.” “He gets defensive the moment I bring it up.” |
| a boss or colleague | “She doesn’t take feedback well.” “He’s resistant to correction.” “Once he’s decided, he won’t revisit it.” |
| a child or teenager | “She’s going through a stubborn phase.” “He’s headstrong and hates being told he’s wrong.” |
| a parent or older relative | “Grandad is set in his ways.” “Mum won’t be told.” |
| a politician or company | “The minister refused to concede the error.” “The firm has yet to acknowledge any wrongdoing.” “They stonewalled every question.” |
“Won’t be told” is a common British phrase for someone who rejects all advice. Concede, acknowledge and accept responsibility are the formal verbs for admitting a mistake, which is why news reports say a person “refused to concede” or “has not acknowledged” it. Stonewall means to block questions by giving no real answers.
Words that are easy to misuse here
- Complacent means too satisfied to see a risk, not refusing to admit a mistake. “The team grew complacent after three wins.”
- Defiant means openly refusing to obey; a person can be defiant and right.
- Adamant is about being firm, not wrong. Add “even though…” if you mean they are mistaken.
- Narcissistic names a personality disorder; using it for one stubborn moment is unfair and inaccurate.
- Stiff-necked is the usual spelling (with a hyphen), not “stiffnecked”.
- Grammar: “He obstinate refused” should be “He obstinately refused”; “his stubborn made it worse” should be “his stubbornness”.
Practice
Choose the best word or phrase: defensive, in denial, know-it-all, too proud, doubled down, intransigent, blame-shifting, stubborn.
- She knew she’d booked the wrong date but was ______ to say so.
- When I pointed out the typo, he ______ and said it was a new spelling.
- Every time we mention his drinking, he says it’s under control. He’s ______.
- He corrects everyone at dinner, even the chef. He’s a total ______.
- Both sides were ______, so the talks collapsed.
- She gets ______ whenever anyone comments on her code.
- “It was the courier’s fault, and the weather’s, and yours.” That’s ______.
- My grandmother is too ______ to use a map; she says she knows the way.
Answers
- too proud
- doubled down
- in denial
- know-it-all
- intransigent
- defensive
- blame-shifting
- stubborn
Quick answers
What do you call someone who never admits they are wrong?
Stubborn is the everyday word; pigheaded is ruder; a know-it-all is the noun for someone who thinks they always know best. If pride is the reason, say they are “too proud to admit it”.
What is the word for refusing to admit a mistake?
Common phrases are “being in denial”, “refusing to back down”, “doubling down” and “digging your heels in”. The noun for the trait is stubbornness or obstinacy.
Is there a polite word?
“Set in their ways”, “very sure of themselves” and “finds it hard to accept feedback” are polite descriptions.
What is the opposite?
Open-minded, humble, gracious, willing to admit mistakes, and someone who “owns” their errors. A person who says “I was wrong, thank you for telling me” is often described as big enough to admit it.
These pages describe people literally; for how English describes character through comparison and imagery, see the figurative language guide.