Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having a small, round head: Describes a physical characteristic where a person's head is notably small and rounded in shape.
   • Obstinate and stupid: Describes a person who is both stubborn and unintelligent; implies a foolish kind of stubbornness.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Physical characteristic):
  • The cartoon character was drawn as a bullet-headed man with a determined look.
  • He was a stocky, bullet-headed fellow, easily recognizable in a crowd.
• Adjective (Character trait):
  • His bullet-headed refusal to listen to reason cost the company a valuable contract.
  • Don't be so bullet-headed; there is a smarter way to solve this problem.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used pejoratively. When describing physical appearance, it can be neutral, though somewhat blunt. When describing character, it is always critical and insulting, combining the ideas of stupidity and obstinacy.
• It can be used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb like 'to be').

Variants and Related Words

• Bullet head (noun): A person with a small, round head or (informal) a stubbornly stupid person.
  • He's a real bullet head when it comes to changing his routines.
• Pigheaded (adjective): Stubborn. (Note: 'Pigheaded' emphasizes stubbornness but does not inherently include the connotation of stupidity that 'bullet-headed' does.)

Synonyms

• Physical: Round-headed, brachycephalic.
• Character: Obstinate, stubborn, mulish, thickheaded, dense, obtuse.

Antonyms

• Physical: Long-headed, dolichocephalic.
• Character: Open-minded, reasonable, intelligent, perceptive.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• To have a head like a bullet: An informal phrase meaning to be very stubborn or to have a very round, small head.
  • Once he gets an idea, he has a head like a bullet—impossible to change his mind.

Adjective

1. having a small round head
2. obstinate and stupid