Onbuigzame

Onbuigzame is a Dutch adjective meaning rigid, inflexible, or unyielding. It can describe both physical properties, such as materials that do not bend easily, and metaphorical qualities, such as attitudes, policies, or decisions that resist change.

Etymology and usage details attested in Dutch show that the word is formed with the negating prefix on- attached to buigzaam, from buigen “to bend,” with the common adjectival suffix -zaam. In sentences, the form may take inflectional endings depending on gender, number, and definiteness, for example onbuigzaam as a base form and onbuigzame in certain contexts. The noun form onbuigzaamheid refers to the quality of being unbendable or unyielding.

In usage, onbuigzame is predominantly found in formal or descriptive prose. It appears in technical contexts to describe materials, as in het metaal is onbuigzaam (the metal is unbendable), and in political or social discourse to characterize attitudes or strategies, such as een onbuigzame houding (an unyielding stance) or een onbuigzaam beleid (an inflexible policy). While often neutral, the term can carry a critical or negative tone when applied to negotiators or leaders who refuse to compromise; it can also be used descriptively without value judgment.

Related terms include buigzaamheid (flexibility), rigiditeit (rigidity), and inflexibiliteit. In translation, onbuigzame corresponds to inflexible or unyielding in English.