closed-minded
Resistant to change
Closed-minded describes someone unwilling to consider new ideas or perspectives.
A closed-minded person dismisses unfamiliar viewpoints without genuine examination: He's too closed-minded to even listen to the proposal.
The term implies intellectual rigidity—not just disagreement, but refusal to engage.
Also spelled closedminded or close-minded.
Narrow in perspective
- provincialRegional or narrow-minded
- insularNarrow in outlook
- myopicUnable to see far
- shortsightedUnable to see ahead
limited · blinkered · tunnel-visioned · petty · circumscribed · shallow · unimaginative · incurious
Stubbornly intolerant of others
- illiberalOpposed to individual freedoms
- unaccommodatingUnwilling to help others
- xenophobicFearing or hating outsiders
- chauvinisticPrejudiced toward one's own group
ethnocentric · jingoistic · prejudiced · discriminatory · biased · racist · sexist · homophobic
Unable to bend
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
- unbendingRefusing to change position
- unadaptableCannot modify to fit
- uncompromisingRefusing to yield ground
intransigent · immovable · fixed · set · entrenched · hardened · calcified · fossilized
Firmly refusing to yield
- bullheadedStubbornly refusing to yield
- headstrongStubbornly self-willed
- mulishStubbornly refusing to yield
- pigheadedStubbornly refusing to yield
willful · dogged · adamant · unpersuadable · unswayable · recalcitrant · hardheaded · obdurate
Rigidly attached to doctrine
- ideologicalRelating to belief systems
- opinionatedFirmly attached to beliefs
- orthodoxConforming to established belief
- fundamentalistStrict original-doctrine adherent
zealous · fanatical · absolutist · unquestioning · unreasoning · conformist · reactionary · partisan
parochial
Narrow in perspective
- provincialRegional or narrow-minded
- insularNarrow in outlook
- myopicUnable to see far
shortsighted · limited · blinkered · tunnel-visioned · petty · circumscribed · shallow · unimaginative · incurious · unquestioning
bigoted
Stubbornly intolerant of others
- illiberalOpposed to individual freedoms
- unaccommodatingUnwilling to help others
- xenophobicFearing or hating outsiders
chauvinistic · ethnocentric · jingoistic · prejudiced · discriminatory · biased · racist · sexist · homophobic · sectarian
inflexible
Unable to bend
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
- unbendingRefusing to change position
- unadaptableCannot modify to fit
uncompromising · intransigent · immovable · fixed · set · entrenched · hardened · calcified · fossilized · locked-in
obstinate
Firmly refusing to yield
- bullheadedStubbornly refusing to yield
- headstrongStubbornly self-willed
- mulishStubbornly refusing to yield
pigheaded · willful · dogged · adamant · unpersuadable · unswayable · recalcitrant · hardheaded · obdurate · pertinacious
doctrinaire
Rigidly attached to doctrine
- ideologicalRelating to belief systems
- opinionatedFirmly attached to beliefs
- orthodoxConforming to established belief
fundamentalist · zealous · fanatical · absolutist · unquestioning · unreasoning · conformist · reactionary · partisan · rigid
- viewpoint traitsimpartial, objective, biased, neutral, subjective
- attitudespositive, negative, ambition, apathy, curiosity
- mindsetsgrowth mindset, fixed mindset, mindset, abundance mindset, scarcity mindset
- intolerantbigoted, biased, prejudiced, discriminatory, intolerant
- thinking stylesanalytical, creative thinker, critical thinker, rational, critical
- certaintycertain, sure, uncertain, unsure, definite
closed-mindedopen-minded
Receptive to different ideas
broad-minded · receptive · open · curious · inquisitive
closed-mindedtolerant
Accepting of differences
accepting · broad-minded · liberal · inclusive · cosmopolitan
closed-mindedflexible
Able to bend freely
adaptable · freethinking · undogmatic · unprejudiced · unbiased
close, mind, closed, closing, mindful, closer, minded, mindless, closure