recusant
Americanadjective
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refusing to submit, comply, etc.
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obstinate in refusal.
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English History. refusing to attend services of the Church of England.
noun
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a person who is recusant.
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English History. a person, especially a Roman Catholic, who refused to attend the services of the Church of England.
noun
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(in 16th to 18th century England) a Roman Catholic who did not attend the services of the Church of England, as was required by law
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any person who refuses to submit to authority
adjective
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(formerly, of Catholics) refusing to attend services of the Church of England
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refusing to submit to authority
Other Word Forms
- recusance noun
- unrecusant adjective
Etymology
Origin of recusant
1545–55; < Latin recūsant- (stem of recūsāns ), present participle of recusāre to demur, object, equivalent to re- re- + -cūsāre, verbal derivative of causa cause; -ant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Catholic recusants secretly practiced their faith; Jesuits roamed the country incognito; and zealots didn’t shrink from terrorist acts.
From Washington Post
But his parents in England had been “recusants,” Catholics who refused to attend the Protestant Anglican Church, as required by law after the Reformation.
From Washington Post
Philips, an English recusant, settled in Brussels and knew Brueghel and Rubens well, his music celebrated in artistic circles as an engine of the Counter-Reformation.
From The Guardian
Unlike one fellow resident, who doesn't step outside once in three months, Francis will not be a recusant.
From The Guardian
The Federer recusants - Brits who refused to toe the patriotic line - were an interesting bunch.
From The Guardian
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.
