obdurate
欧州で最高のクラブを決する大会、チャンピオンズリーグの決勝が先日行われ、バルセロナがユベントスを下し、4季ぶり5回目の優勝を果たしました。
Barcelona see off Juventus to claim fifth title
FC Barcelona have been crowned European champions for the fifth time – and the fourth in the past ten years – after seeing off a determined Juventus challenge in Berlin.
In an unusually open start to a final, Juve might have scored themselves before Barça did, Ivan Rakitić rounding off a slick passing move in the fourth minute. For a while the roof looked set to fall in on Juve, Gianluigi Buffon producing a sensational stop to deny Daniel Alves – yet the Italian champions are nothing if not obdurate and drew level ten minutes into the second half through Álvaro Morata. Now it was Barcelona under pressure, but Luis Suárez restored their advantage and, with Juve throwing everything forward, Neymar blasted in a third with the final kick of the game.
今回取り上げるのは“obdurate”です。「(正式)頑固な、強情な;無情な」(『G3』より)という意味を持ち、やや固めの表現のようです。文中では、“nothing if not”をともなって用いられています。開始早々に失点したユベントスが持ち直し、粘り強く戦った様子がよく分かります。(potter)
