restive

American  

[res-tiv] / ˈrɛs tɪv /

adjective

1. impatient of control, restraint, or delay, as persons; restless; uneasy.

   Synonyms:

   unquiet, nervous

   Antonyms:

   quiet, patient

2. refractory; stubborn.

   Synonyms:

   obstinate, disobedient, recalcitrant

   Antonyms:

   tractable, obedient

3. refusing to go forward; balky.

   a restive horse.

---

restive British  

/ ˈrɛstɪv /

adjective

1. restless, nervous, or uneasy

2. impatient of control or authority

---

Other Word Forms

• restively adverb
• restiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of restive

1375–1425; rest ² + -ive; replacing late Middle English restif stationary, balking < Old French: inert

Example Sentences

But Jewan concealed an anti-colonial streak and Sikh activists gathered to talk rebellion at a retreat he built on the Ravi River, which zigzags across what is now the restive border between Pakistan and India.

From The Wall Street Journal

The countries have fought two wars over the restive region.

From BBC

Yet, however destructive to his personal life, Matthiessen’s restive, yearning nature animated the best of his fiction.

From The Wall Street Journal

For Delhi, the challenge is not just managing a fallen ally in exile, but preserving a neighbour central to its security - from counterterrorism and border management to access to its restive north-eastern region.

From BBC

Oddly, as Mike Burry’s investors grew restive, his Wall Street counterparties took a new and envious interest in what he was up to.

From Literature

Related Words

• agitated
• fractious
• jittery
• recalcitrant
• restless
• tense
• uneasy
• unruly