bolshy
- adjective
- /ˈbɒlʃi/
- Slang
:
desafiante
- Her bolshy attitude during the meeting frustrated the manager, who was trying to establish a new policy.
Examples
-
The snort was a sure sign that Walter was in a bolshy mood.
Fiction book (1996) -
Pretty much every film churned out by Hollywood these days, be it big budget or B movie, invariably has a bolshy hard-ass woman who can somehow withstand blows to the face from tough-as-hell men, come back for more, and then restrain them while reading them their rights or something.
Blog text (13) -
He was a bolshy, great burly bastard.
-
The teacher found it difficult to manage the class because the students were all in a bolshy mood.
-
Despite the coach's authority, Jake remained bolshy and refused to follow the training regimen.
Synonyms
63
5.6
Refusing to follow rules or orders in a bold, open way
22
8.5
Being bad-tempered and stubborn, often hard to deal with
11
8.1
Not willing to follow rules or accept control
9
8.6
Gets angry easily and often argues with people
1
9.8
Easily annoyed and likely to argue or be unhelpful
1
9.9
Unwilling to cooperate and often challenging authority
Often refuses to do what others ask
Refuses to cooperate to cause trouble
Antonyms
How Combative
311
3.7
- Slang
63
5.6
22
4.5
386
2.1
119
3.5
31
5.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
bolshy = Bolshevik (opaque) = bolsh + y
Although historically derived from 'Bolshevik', the slang shortening and semantic shift to 'uncooperative/defiant' is not transparently predictable for average learners.
Etymology
The word bolshy comes from older slang bolshie, from Bolshevik, the name for a Russian group who wanted big political change and were seen as ready to fight authority. So calling someone bolshy is like saying they are 'defiant' or 'uncooperative' on purpose.