restive
[res-tiv]
- impatient of control, restraint, or delay, as persons; restless; uneasy.
- refractory; stubborn.
- refusing to go forward; balky: a restive horse.
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Origin of restive
Synonyms
See more synonyms for restive on Thesaurus.com1. nervous, unquiet. 2. recalcitrant, disobedient, obstinate.
Antonyms
1. patient, quiet. 2. obedient, tractable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for restive
Contemporary Examples
The U.S. launched campaigns in the restive Iraqi city of Fallujah and a surge campaign in Baghdad.
The U.S. military is finally starting to train Iraqi troops to fight ISIS in restive Anbar province.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’Nancy A. Youssef
January 6, 2015
The great exception, of course, was Ireland, its most restive component.
On Friday, the restive Ukrainian parliament, now dominated by her political allies, voted to free her.
Levinson pointed to the the SInai Peninsula, the restive swath of desert that links Israel to Egypt.
Historical Examples
The horse was restive, looking over its shoulder at him, not liking what was going on.
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
Under all these restrictions the colonies were not as yet restive.
The Siege of BostonAllen French
Many of them are nervous and restive, and not easily approached.
Cattle and Their DiseasesRobert Jennings
Underneath it every horse was restive and every voice had an edge.
The Long RollMary Johnston
He dropped from the omnibus at the park entrance, where he found his restive mare.
The Lure of the MaskHarold MacGrath
restive
- restless, nervous, or uneasy
- impatient of control or authority
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Word Origin
C16: from Old French restif balky, from rester to remain
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
Word Origin and History for restive
adj.
early 15c., restyffe "not moving forward," from Middle French restif "motionless, brought to a standstill" (Modern French rétif), from rester "to remain" (see rest (n.2)). Sense of "unmanageable" (1680s) evolved via notion of a horse refusing to go forward.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper