recalcitrant
- adjective
- /rɪˈkæl.sɪ.trənt/
- Formal
- The parents struggled with their recalcitrant teenager, who constantly resisted their guidance.
- the most recalcitrant
- even the most recalcitrant
- recalcitrant members
And those who oppose them for whatever reason, will be cast as the problem, as as obstinate, as recalcitrant.
- And those who oppose them for whatever reason, will be cast as the problem, as as obstinate, as recalcitrant.
Examples
-
Her teachers reacted with horror, doing everything in their power to dissuade the recalcitrant child.
Academic text (1993) -
What would you suggest to physicians who are recalcitrant to the idea of patients bringing in their own data sets?
-
And I know I must seem recalcitrant, but my soul is my own.
-
He's very recalcitrant and does not want to do the thing you expect to be done.
-
If they are looking for a recalcitrant southerner, they have found one.
Fiction book (1995) -
But foreign policy involves trying to accomplish varied objectives in a complex and recalcitrant world.
Academic text (1999) -
Love and understanding... ...won't make a good detective out of a recalcitrant poet.
-
From all accounts, Jesse Kingston was recalcitrant and headstrong and got what he deserved.
-
The teacher found it challenging to manage the recalcitrant student who refused to follow the classroom rules.
-
Despite repeated warnings, the recalcitrant employee continued to arrive late to work.
Synonyms
Not willing to change your mind even when others try to persuade you
Refusing to follow rules or orders in a bold, open way
Not willing to follow rules or authority
Difficult to control and messy or noisy
Behaving badly and not following rules
Being bad-tempered and stubborn, often hard to deal with
Refusing to accept change or obey people in charge
Refusing to change your opinion or behavior even when others try to persuade you
Deliberately refusing to do what others want
Refusing to follow orders or respect someone in charge
Refuses to obey rules or people in charge
Gets angry easily and often argues with people
Being hard to control and easily annoyed, often causing trouble
To refuse to obey leaders and show open rebellion
A person who refuses to change their opinion or behaviour even when others try to persuade them
Refusing to change beliefs or show regret, even when wrong
Not willing to change your mind or actions
Hard to control or train and does not obey people in charge
Hard to control or manage because of stubborn behaviour
Being stubborn and refusing to obey people in charge, for example a court
Unwilling to cooperate and often challenging authority
A person who insists on doing what they want and often disobeys others
Not obeying rules or orders from people in power
Likely to oppose rules or orders
Often refuses to do what others ask
Refusing to change an opinion even when people give reasons
Antonyms
How Resistant
- Formal
Surface Forms
Etymology
Recalcitrant comes from Latin parts re- 'back' and calcitrare 'to kick', so imagine someone 'kicking back' against orders. That's why a recalcitrant person or thing stubbornly refuses to obey rules or to be controlled.