na-adjective
obstinate; stubborn; headstrong; self-centered
Describes a person who is rigidly self-willed, narrow-minded, and unwilling to compromise. Literary and somewhat old-fashioned; in modern speech, 頑固 or 意地っ張り are more common.
彼は狷介な性格で、他人の意見に耳を貸さない。
He has an obstinate personality and won't listen to others' opinions.
狷介な老人は、自分のやり方を変えようとし
The stubborn old man refused to change his ways.
The kanji 狷 (narrow-minded, obstinate) and 介 (shell, mediate) combine to suggest a rigid, self-contained character. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the word is a literary Sino-Japanese compound.