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
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; see -ant
Explanation
Someone who refuses to participate in a socially expected activity (especially when they decline to go to church) is a recusant. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, anyone who broke church rules by refusing to attend services would be labeled a recusant by the Church of England. Today, a recusant might defy authority in other ways: "Once again, the recusants ignored my instructions to get in line after recess." Or use the word as an adjective, like when your recusant brother refuses to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. The Latin root is recusare, "decline, refuse, or reject."
Vocabulary lists containing recusant
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.
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 • Jan. 27, 2013
Unlike one fellow resident, who doesn't step outside once in three months, Francis will not be a recusant.
From The Guardian • Nov. 22, 2012
Wiseman, her other son, is also an obstinate recusant and will by no means take the oath.
From The Condition of Catholics Under James I. by Gerard, John
The Foreign Person was suffered to return, and thenceforward was addressed as Father Ruddlestone, as though he had some licence bearing him harmless from the penalties and præmunires which then weighed upon recusant persons.
From The Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous, Vol. 1 Who was a sailor, a soldier, a merchant, a spy, a slave among the moors... by Sala, George Augustus
Congress should have sufficient respect for this commission and for itself to provide a way to punish such recusant witnesses who are willing to degrade themselves in so base a manner.
From The Railroad Question A historical and practical treatise on railroads, and remedies for their abuses by Larrabee, William
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.
