recalcitrant

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“
In maintaining their authority the leaders stopped at nothing, and the heads of the recalcitrant were apt to part with amazing suddenness from their bodies if they repined overmuch.

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Definitions (6)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. adjective Marked by stubborn resistance to and defiance of authority or guidance. See Synonyms at unruly.
  2. noun A recalcitrant person.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (1)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

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Examples

  • Perhaps they had dared to be initially recalcitrant, at least to some small degree. —  Renegades Of Gor
  • We do know lan's recalcitrant, arrogant and out of his depth. —  Noble House
  • For one thing there wasn't going to be any fighting worth the name beyond a skirmish or two if some of the hostile bands proved recalcitrant, and that would be far to the south of the Yellowstone, with a large and efficient army in between. —  Flashman And The Redskins
  • They make short shrift of slaves who are recalcitrant, and don't forget that you didn't cost Yron very much. —  Escape on Venus
  • In maintaining their authority the leaders stopped at nothing, and the heads of the recalcitrant were apt to part with amazing suddenness from their bodies if they repined overmuch. —  Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean
 

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Recalcitrant has been looked up 1102 times, favorited 12 times, listed 162 times, and commented on 7 times.

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Late Latin recalcitrāns, recalcitrant-, present participle of recalcitrāre, to be disobedient, from Latin, to deny access : re-, re- + calcitrāre, to kick (from calx, calc-, heel).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. =F. récalcitrant =Italian ricalcitrante, from Latin recalcitran (t-)s, from recalcitrare, kick back: see recalcitrate.
 

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/rəˈkælsɪtrənt/
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