Why “recusant” is a great word
RECUSANT — [Adjective, Noun] One who refuses to submit to authority or comply with a regulation; historically, a Roman Catholic or Protestant dissenter who refused to attend services of the Church of England. From Latin recūsāns, recūsāntis, present participle of recūsāre ("to refuse, decline, object to"), from re- (expressing opposition) + causārī ("to plead, dispute"). First attested in English in the mid-16th century. Unlike a "dissenter," who may simply disagree, or a "nonconformist," who broadly strays from norms, a recusant is defined by a formal, obstinate, and legally perilous refusal to submit to a specific sovereign demand. It is the heavy oak door bolted against the king's commissioner, the whispered Latin Mass in a secluded attic, and the quiet forfeiture of property for a conscience that would not bend—the quiet, costly fortitude of standing apart when unity is law.