obstreperous

[ uhb-strep-er-uhs ]

/ əbˈstrɛp ər əs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR obstreperous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly.

noisy, clamorous, or boisterous: obstreperous children.

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Origin of obstreperous

1590–1600; < Latin obstreperus clamorous, akin to obstrepere to make a noise at (ob- ob- + strepere to rattle); see -ous

SYNONYMS FOR obstreperous

1 uncontrolled, refractory.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR obstreperous ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR obstreperous

1 obedient.

2 calm.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR obstreperous ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM obstreperous

ob·strep·er·ous·ly, adverbob·strep·er·ous·ness, ob·strep·e·ros·i·ty

[uhb-strep-uh-ros-i-tee] /əbˌstrɛp əˈrɒs ɪ ti/, noun

Words nearby obstreperous

obstetrician-gynecologist, obstetrics, obstinacy, obstinate, obstipation, obstreperous, obstruct, obstructed testis, obstruction, obstructionist, obstructive apnea

Example sentences from the Web for obstreperous

Yeah, they may have been extreme or obstreperous or this or that, but they were good.
The Incompetent Party|Michael Tomasky|January 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Lots of things got in the way of that, notably the lousy economy, and secondly the obstreperous Republicans.
Michael Tomasky on How Liberals Need to Hold Their Anti-Obama Fire|Michael Tomasky|November 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In time the obstreperous Texicans developed revolutionary ideas.
Paul Begala: Ted Cruz and Texas’s Tea Party Revolution|Paul Begala|August 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Even the messiest, most obstreperous books are reduced to a litany of bullet points, or a single bullet point.
Ken Kesey’s Wars: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” at 50|Nathaniel Rich|July 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST

He liked to drink, colleagues say, and would occasionally get obstreperous.
Is This Dave's Blackmailer?|Lloyd Grove|October 2, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He claims that a "little loosening up of the hide" of an obstreperous prisoner does the said prisoner a vast amount of good.
The Twin Hells|John N. Reynolds
Our Commandant, Fauad Bey, has been in a most obstreperous and belligerent mood for days.
The Secrets of a Kuttite|Edward O. Mousley
For a young woman who had prescribed outlawry as a cure for obstreperous nerves her alarm was astonishing.
Blacksheep! Blacksheep!|Meredith Nicholson
Priests were notorious for being the most ill-tempered, obstreperous, and unstable of men.
Rastignac the Devil|Philip Jos Farmer
In an instant his father's spotted hound bounded from behind the cabin, followed by four other obstreperous dogs.
The Red Debt|Everett MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for obstreperous

obstreperous

/ (əbˈstrɛpərəs) /

adjective

noisy or rough, esp in resisting restraint or control

Derived forms of obstreperous

obstreperously, adverbobstreperousness, noun

Word Origin for obstreperous

C16: from Latin, from obstrepere, from ob- against + strepere to roar

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

obstreperous

adjective

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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PUNCTUATION QUIZ

Origin of obstreperous

SYNONYMS FOR obstreperous

ANTONYMS FOR obstreperous

OTHER WORDS FROM obstreperous

Words nearby obstreperous

Words related to obstreperous

Example sentences from the Web for obstreperous

British Dictionary definitions for obstreperous

adjective

Derived forms of obstreperous

Word Origin for obstreperous