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recusant

[ rek-yuh-zuhnt, ri-kyoo-zuhnt ]
/ ˈrɛk yə zənt, rɪˈkyu zənt /
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See synonyms for: recusant / recusants on Thesaurus.com
adjective
refusing to submit, comply, etc.
obstinate in refusal.
English History. refusing to attend services of the Church of England.
noun
a person who is recusant.
English History. a person, especially a Roman Catholic, who refused to attend the services of the Church of England.
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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 causacause; see -ant

OTHER WORDS FROM recusant

un·rec·u·sant, adjective

Words nearby recusant

recursive subroutine, recurvate, recurve, recurved, recusancy, recusant, recuse, recycle, recycling, red, redact
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to recusant

adverse, antithetical, conflicting, contradictory, discordant, hostile, inconsistent, inimical, negative, opposed, paradoxical, wrongheaded, anarchic, barbarous, chaotic, turbulent, unruly, violent, gloomy, pessimistic

How to use recusant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for recusant

recusant
/ (ˈrɛkjʊzənt) /
noun
(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
any person who refuses to submit to authority
adjective
(formerly, of Catholics) refusing to attend services of the Church of England
refusing to submit to authority

Derived forms of recusant

recusance or recusancy, noun

Word Origin for recusant

C16: from Latin recūsāns refusing, from recūsāre from re- + causārī to dispute, from causa a cause
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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