Recalcitrant
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ɹɪ.ˈkæl.sɪ.tɹənt/
Origin
From Latin recalcitrÄns, recalcitrantis, present participle of recalcitrÅ, recalcitrÄre ("be disobedient").
Full definition of recalcitrant
Adjective
recalcitrant
- Marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority.
- 1908, Edith Wharton, "In Trust" in The Hermit and the Wild Woman and Other Stories:His nimble fancy was recalcitrant to mental discipline.
- 1914, P. G. Wodehouse, "Death at the Excelsior":There was something in her manner so reminiscent of the school teacher reprimanding a recalcitrant pupil that Mr. Snyder's sense of humor came to his rescue.
- 1959 June 8, "Kenya: The Hola Scandal," Time:Kenya's official "Cowan Plan," named after a colonial prison administrator, decreed that recalcitrant prisoners "be manhandled to the site and forced to carry out the task."
- Unwilling to cooperate socially.
- Difficult to deal with or to operate.
- 2003, Robert G. Wetzel, Solar radiation as an ecosystem modulator, in E. Walter Helbling, Horacio Zagarese (editors), UV Effects in Aquatic Organisms and Ecosystems, most+recalcitrant%22&hl=en&ei=9zpXTtKvG8nhmAWs64GYDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22more|most%20recalcitrant%22&f=false page 13: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.
- 2004, Derek W. Urwin, Germany: From Geographical Expression to Regional Accommodation, in Michael Keating (political scientist) (editor), Regions and Regionalism in Europe, borts%22&hl=en&ei=VjVXTr2GK-LymAXa5fHDDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFEQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false page 47:The Hansa had no legal status, independent finances or a common institutional framework, while the major weapon against recalcitrant members (or opponents) was the threat of embargo.
- 2006, Janet Pierrehumbert, Syllable structure and word structure: a study of triconsonantal clusters in English, in Patricia A. Keating (editor), Phonological Structure and Phonetic Form, borts%22&hl=en&ei=VjVXTr2GK-LymAXa5fHDDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFYQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q&f=false page 179:Particularly recalcitrant examples which made it impossible to remove actual words while maintaining the balance of the set were resolved by altering a consonant in the base word to create a new base form.
- 2010, Brian J. Hall, John C. Hall, Sauer's Manual of Skin Diseases, most+recalcitrant%22&hl=en&ei=tj9XTqvUNojymAX9seGlDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBjgU#v=onepage&q=%22more|most%20recalcitrant%22&f=false page 251:However, when a clinician is faced with a more recalcitrant case, it is important to remember to ask the patient whether psychological, social, or occupational stress might be contributing to the activity of the skin disorder.
Synonyms
- (stubbornly unwilling to obey authority) argumentative, disobedient
- (difficult to operate or deal with) stubborn, unruly
Antonyms
- (stubbornly unwilling to obey authority) compliant, obedient
- (difficult to operate or deal with) amenable, cooperative, eager