restive

[ res-tiv ]

See synonyms for restive on Thesaurus.com

adjective

impatient of control, restraint, or delay, as persons; restless; uneasy.
refractory; stubborn.

refusing to go forward; balky: a restive horse.

Origin of restive

1375–1425; rest² + -ive; replacing late Middle English restif stationary, balking <Old French: inert

Other words for restive

1	nervous, unquiet
2	recalcitrant, disobedient, obstinate

See synonyms for restive on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for restive

1	patient, quiet
2	obedient, tractable

See antonyms for restive on Thesaurus.com

Other words from restive

res·tive·ly, adverb
res·tive·ness, noun

Words that may be confused with restive

restful, restive

Words Nearby restive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use restive in a sentence

The U.S. launched campaigns in the restive Iraqi city of Fallujah and a surge campaign in Baghdad.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War | Nancy A. Youssef | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
The U.S. military is finally starting to train Iraqi troops to fight ISIS in restive Anbar province.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’ | Nancy A. Youssef | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
The great exception, of course, was Ireland, its most restive component.
Wounds of World War I Have Yet to Heal | Michael F. Bishop | June 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
On Friday, the restive Ukrainian parliament, now dominated by her political allies, voted to free her.
Yulia Tymoshenko: She's No Angel | Christopher Dickey | February 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Levinson pointed to the the SInai Peninsula, the restive swath of desert that links Israel to Egypt.
The Egypt Crackdown and Israeli-Palestinian Talks | Ali Gharib | August 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

A handsome soldier on a restive bay mare came next, and behind him a huge touring car with a pompous black chauffeur.
The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch | Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter
Long grass bordered the road on either side, and Barrington's horse suddenly shied and became restive.
The Light That Lures | Percy Brebner
Even the platform supporters grew restive unconsciously, and stirred and coughed.
The New Machiavelli | Herbert George Wells
Whatever court he went to (and he was often obliged to go to restive and refractory ones) he brought them into his measures.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol 58, No. 357, July 1845 | Various
But sometimes, as now, she was restive under his too close scrutiny.
Quin | Alice Hegan Rice

British Dictionary definitions for restive

restive

/ (ˈrɛstɪv) /

adjective

restless, nervous, or uneasy
impatient of control or authority

Origin of restive

C16: from Old French restif balky, from rester to remain

Derived forms of restive

restively, adverb
restiveness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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