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Showing results for recalcitrant. Search instead for recalcitrances.
Synonyms

recalcitrant

American  
[ri-kal-si-truhnt] / rɪˈkæl sɪ trənt /

adjective

  1. resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory.

    Synonyms:
    opposed, rebellious, resistant

  2. hard to deal with, manage, or operate.

noun

  1. a recalcitrant person.

recalcitrant British  
/ rɪˈkælsɪtrənt /

adjective

  1. not susceptible to control or authority; refractory

"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

noun

  1. a recalcitrant person

"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

Related Words

See unruly.

Other Word Forms

  • nonrecalcitrance noun
  • nonrecalcitrancy noun
  • nonrecalcitrant adjective
  • recalcitrance noun
  • recalcitrancy noun
  • unrecalcitrant adjective

Etymology

Origin of recalcitrant

First recorded in 1835–45; from Latin recalcitrant- (stem of recalcitrāns, present participle of recalcitrāre “to kick back”), equivalent to re- re- + calcitr(āre) “to strike with the heels, kick” (derivative of calx “heel”) + -ant- -ant

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.