Link Centre Dictionary

recalcitrant

re·cal·cit·rant

UK/ɹɪˈkæl.sɪ.tɹənt/ US/rɪˈkælsɪtrʌnt/ uncommon

adjective

1.

marked by stubborn resistance to and defiant of authority or guidance

  • “a recalcitrant teenager”
  • “everything revolves around a refractory individual genius”
Synonyms
Similar
2.

marked by stubborn resistance to authority

  • “the University suspended the most recalcitrant demonstrators”
Similar

Origin

Borrowed from French récalcitrant, in derived from Latin recalcitrāns, recalcitrantis, present participle of recalcitrō, recalcitrāre (“be disobedient, kick back [as a horse]”), from calx (“heel”), 1820s.

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.