restive
impatient of control, restraint, or delay, as persons; restless; uneasy.
refractory; stubborn.
refusing to go forward; balky: a restive horse.
Origin of restive
1Other words for restive
Opposites for restive
Other words from restive
- res·tive·ly, adverb
- res·tive·ness, noun
Words that may be confused with restive
- restful, restive
Words Nearby restive
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use restive in a sentence
Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, a year into his tenure, for making peace with Eritrea but is now starving hundreds of thousands of his citizens to bring a restive region to heel.
Why power attracts the wrong kind of people | Rachel Kleinfeld | November 19, 2021 | Washington PostWhen Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime minister, launched an attack on the restive region of Tigray in his country’s north last November, he promised it would be a swift victory for his forces.
Ethiopia's Tigray Conflict Demands International Attention. Time Is Running Out | Aanu Adeoye | November 16, 2021 | TimeCuriously, the way Below Zero oscillates from long restive stretches between points of interest to short bursts of perilous activity absorbed my attention in ways many more-frenzied popular horror games don’t.
‘Subnautica: Below Zero’: Hold your breath and dive in | Christopher Byrd | June 11, 2021 | Washington PostWorkers had to sign a “Conditions of Employment” slip that listed “agitation” and “insubordination” as grounds for firing, and those living in the company town risked losing their home if they were seen as being too restive.
Lessons From Bessemer: What Amazon’s Union Defeat Means for the American Labor Movement | by Alec MacGillis | April 13, 2021 | ProPublicaInternational border tensions have defined the restive region, which has been heavily militarized, with civil protests and terror attacks over several decades.
The U.S. launched campaigns in the restive Iraqi city of Fallujah and a surge campaign in Baghdad.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War | Nancy A. Youssef | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe 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 DAILY BEASTThe 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.
A handsome soldier on a restive bay mare came next, and behind him a huge touring car with a pompous black chauffeur.
The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch | Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) PorterLong grass bordered the road on either side, and Barrington's horse suddenly shied and became restive.
The Light That Lures | Percy BrebnerEven the platform supporters grew restive unconsciously, and stirred and coughed.
The New Machiavelli | Herbert George WellsWhatever court he went to (and he was often obliged to go to restive and refractory ones) he brought them into his measures.
But sometimes, as now, she was restive under his too close scrutiny.
Quin | Alice Hegan Rice
British Dictionary definitions for restive
/ (ˈrɛstɪv) /
restless, nervous, or uneasy
impatient of control or authority
Origin of restive
1Derived forms of restive
- restively, adverb
- restiveness, noun
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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