recalcitrant
/ɹɪˈkæl.sɪ.tɹənt/ adjective, noun
Forms recalcitrants
- adjective Marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority.
- adjective Unwilling to cooperate socially.
- adjective Difficult to deal with or to operate.
- adjective (botany, of seed, pollen, spores) Not viable for an extended period; damaged by drying or freezing.
- noun A person who is recalcitrant.
Synonyms
argumentative defiant disobedient rebellious stubborn unruly adversarial obstreperous intransigent fractious refractory
Antonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French récalcitrant, in derived from Latin recalcitrāns, recalcitrantis, present participle of recalcitrō, recalcitrāre (“be disobedient, kick back [as a horse]”), from calx (“heel”), 1820s.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Kicking back; recalcitrating; hence, showing repugnance or opposition; refractory.
Etymology [L. recalcitrans, p. pr. of recalcitrare to kick back; pref. re- re- + calcitrare to kick, fr. calx heel. Cf. Inculcate.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “recalcitrant”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details