Hidebound

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈhaɪd.baʊnd/

Definitions

1. Unwilling or unable to change due to strong attachment to traditional ideas or habits, often displaying stubbornness and narrow-mindedness
2. Having rigid opinions and resistant to new concepts or reforms, showing a tendency toward conservatism and inflexibility
3. Characterized by a strict adherence to conventional views and an unwillingness to consider alternative perspectives or adapt to change

Etymology: The image behind "hidebound" is physical and rather grim. Hide is the animal skin, and bound here means "tied" or "fastened," so the word describes a skin that has grown so tight around the body that it cannot stretch. Historically, the term was used of livestock, where the skin of an animal in poor condition clung to its ribs and no longer moved freely over the flesh. From that literal picture the word moved to people and institutions. A hidebound person is one whose ideas or habits have become so rigid that they resist any change, much as a skin too tight for its body restricts every movement. The shift from a description of a starved animal to a description of a stubborn mind is what gives the word its bite, and it is why the compound still carries a sense of constriction rather than mere tradition.

Synonyms: narrow-minded, conservative, rigid

Antonyms: open-minded, flexible, liberal