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idiom
: completely unwilling to change one’s ways of doing or thinking about things
Dictionary Entries Near stuck in one’s ways
stuck in one’s head
stuck in one’s ways
stuckling
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“Stuck in one’s ways.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stuck%20in%20one%27s%20ways. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
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I want to convey the meaning of «stuck in one’s ways» or «stuck in one’s old ways» in a formal way.
Consider the sentence:
The organizations are, for now, very much _______________.
asked May 6, 2020 at 3:06
1
You can say that the organizations are resistant to change. Here resistance means
The refusal to accept or comply with something
[Oxford Dictionary of English]
answered May 6, 2020 at 3:18
I suggest the word hidebound.
adj. «Unwilling or unable to change because of tradition or convention.» — Lexico
or «having an inflexible or ultraconservative character.» — Merriam-Webster
answered May 6, 2020 at 15:04
WastrelWastrel
4172 silver badges6 bronze badges
2
sclerotic
Becoming rigid and unresponsive; losing the ability to adapt.
‘sclerotic management’
definition from lexico
Some hits in COCA:
France along with many of the other countries in the E.U. have a sclerotic economy that’s not producing the jobs
Barack Obama’s vision of centralized government, surrounded by a web of sclerotic bureaucracies
You’ll also see how far the new director plans to take this sclerotic state institution in the direction of » up and out. «
Seems to fit the bill perfectly.
answered May 6, 2020 at 7:49
DW256DW256
6,9852 gold badges13 silver badges27 bronze badges
You could change the structure of the sentence and use the word entrenched:
For the organisations, these ways of operation are very much entrenched.
answered May 6, 2020 at 11:48
dbmag9dbmag9
1,5058 silver badges10 bronze badges
You could say they are stuck in their old ways but you are looking for less casual terms.
In formal terms they rely on more traditional methods or they could be said to stick with traditional ways. For very formal terms you would substitute sticks to with adheres to but the vocabulary starts to get in the way.
Their ways are from the previous century or …a bygone age
They have learned nothing of modern ways.
I often feel the same way.
answered May 6, 2020 at 3:25
ElliotElliot
5,0772 gold badges13 silver badges22 bronze badges
2
The organizations are, for now, very much inflexible.
Lexico has
inflexible
ADJECTIVE1 Unwilling to change or compromise.
1.1 Not able to be changed or adapted to particular circumstances.
answered May 6, 2020 at 15:43
Weather VaneWeather Vane
18.5k3 gold badges36 silver badges53 bronze badges
For a truly formal word, you can’t beat: conservative.
I can tell my Aunt, straight to her face, that the Dayton Historical Society is conservative, and she won’t be offended. It equally means «stuck in their ways» as it does the more positive «stays with tried and true tradition». There’s a possible confusion with conservative/liberal in politics, but not in context: «how about a tik-tok challenge to raise money?», «doubt it — the DHS is pretty conservative. Just getting a Facebook page was like pulling teeth.»
Conservative also means dowdy, anti-sex and such, but in context it’s back to stuck in their ways: «I’ve been trying to get Boston Dildo to make their double-ended in different sizes, but they’re just too conservative to listen.»
answered May 6, 2020 at 16:04
Another word for it is «moribund», which dictionary.com has (defn 3) meaning «not progressing or advancing; stagnant».
Greybeard
36.7k3 gold badges40 silver badges108 bronze badges
answered May 6, 2020 at 16:41
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iMak7
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iMak7
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Oct 16, 2010
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#1
Hi!
What does it mean to be ‘stuck in your ways’?
Thank you!
K
kalamazoo
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Oct 16, 2010
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#2
Someone who is «stuck in his ways» is resistant to change and wants to keep on doing things the way he has always done them.
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iMak7
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#3
Thanks for the comment, got that!
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