Meanings
comparative more mulish · superlative most mulish
- Characteristic of a mule; stubborn, obstinate, or intractable.
[…] a rickety verdigrised geyser which would spit two inches of tepid water into the bath and then mulishly stop working."
1934 October, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Burmese Days, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, →OCLCSynonyms: stubborn as a mule
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveCharacteristic of a mule; stubborn, obstinate, or intractable.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveunreasonably rigid in the face of argument or entreaty or attack
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Italic*musklos?
- Latinmūlus
- Latinmūla
- Anglo-Normanmule
- Latinmūlus
- Proto-West Germanic*mūl
- Old Englishmūl
- Middle Englishmule
- Englishmule
- Englishmulish
Translations
German stur, störrisch
- sturstubborn
- störrischstubborn
Cite this entry
mulish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mulish
“mulish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mulish. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mulish,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mulish.
Source: mulish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.