recalcitrant
/ɹɪˈkæl.sɪ.tɹənt/
recalcitrant means marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, recalcitrant ranks #2,319 of 14,444 for Most Exacting Words, #2,350 of 14,448 for Most Incisive Words, #2,382 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,484 of 14,448 for Funniest Words.
recalcitrant is pronounced /ɹɪˈkæl.sɪ.tɹənt/.
Why “recalcitrant” is a great word
Stubbornly refusing to obey authority or rules. From the French récalcitrant, from the Latin recalcitrāns, recalcitrantis, present participle of recalcitrāre ("to be disobedient, to kick back"), from re- ("back") + calcitrāre ("to kick"), from calx ("heel"); first attested in English in the 1820s. Unlike "obedient," which suggests a placid willingness, or "amenable," which implies an open, persuadable nature, recalcitrant denotes active, bodily resistance—the stubborn animal kicking against the harness. It is the mule that plants its feet in the mud, the child who locks his jaw against the spoon, the old tree that will not bend to the storm—a testament to the quiet, exhausting dignity of simply saying no.
Etymology
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.
adj
- Marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority.“His nimble fancy was recalcitrant to mental discipline.”
- Unwilling to cooperate socially.
- Difficult to deal with or to operate.“The more labile organic constituents of complex dissolved and particulate organic matter are commonly hydrolyzed and metabolized more rapidly than more recalcitrant organic compounds that are less accessible enzymatically.”
- Not viable for an extended period; damaged by drying or freezing.
noun
- A person who is recalcitrant.
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