recalcitrant
/ɹɪˈkæl.sɪ.tɹənt/
recalcitrant adjective: marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority.
Adjective
recalcitrant (comparative more recalcitrant, superlative most recalcitrant)
- Marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority.
- His nimble fancy was recalcitrant to mental discipline.1908, Edith Wharton, “In Trust”, in The Hermit and the Wild Woman and Other Stories
- 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.1914, P. G. Wodehouse, Death at the Excelsior
- Synonyms:
- argumentative, defiant, disobedient, rebellious
- 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.2003, Robert G. Wetzel, “Solar radiation as an ecosystem modulator”, in E. Walter Helbling, Horacio Zagarese, editors, UV Effects in Aquatic Organisms and Ecosystems, page 13
- 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.2004, Derek W. Urwin, Germany: From Geographical Expression to Regional Accommodation, in Michael Keating (editor), Regions and Regionalism in Europe, page 47
- Synonyms:
- stubborn, unruly, adversarial, obstreperous, intransigent
- Not viable for an extended period; damaged by drying or freezing.
Noun
recalcitrant (plural recalcitrants)
- A person who is recalcitrant.
recalcitrant meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali
recalcitrant in Hindi
- marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey figures of authority
- अड़ियल aṛiyal, दुर्दम्य durdamya, बाग़ी bāġī
- hard to deal with or operate
- अड़ियल aṛiyal, दुर्दम्य durdamya, बाग़ी bāġī
recalcitrant in Marathi
- marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey figures of authority
- दुर्दम्य durdamya
- hard to deal with or operate
- दुर्दम्य durdamya
recalcitrant in Urdu
- marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey figures of authority
- بَاغِی bāġī
- hard to deal with or operate
- بَاغِی bāġī
recalcitrant in Bengali
- সামাজিকভাবে সহযোগিতা করতে অনিচ্ছুক, নিয়ন্ত্রণ করা, পরিচালনা করা কঠিন
More languagesFewer languages
- recalcitrant in Malayalam
- വഴങ്ങാത്ത, മർക്കടമുഷ്ടിയായ, കീഴ്പെടാത്ത, അനുസരിക്കാത്ത
- recalcitrant in Kannada
- ಹೇಳಿದ್ದು ಕೇಳದ, ಒಪ್ಪದ, ಹಟಮಾರಿ, ಮೊಂಡ
- recalcitrant in Odia
- ଦୁର୍ଦମ୍ୟ durdamya
- recalcitrant in Sanskrit
- दुर्दम्य durdamya
- recalcitrant in Nepali
- दुर्दम्य durdamya
- recalcitrant in Persian
- بَاغِی bâġi
Examples of recalcitrant in a sentence
- The incentive to this first-class performance was a 14 min. late start from Hellifield, due to a recalcitrant van door which could not be properly secured.1958 August, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 560:
- 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."1959 June 8, “Kenya: The Hola Scandal”, in Time:
Synonyms of recalcitrant
Antonyms
Forms of recalcitrant
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more recalcitrant |
| superlative | most recalcitrant |
| Noun | |
| plural | recalcitrants |
Origin of recalcitrant
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.
Words formed from recalcitrant
Questions about recalcitrant
- What does recalcitrant mean?
- Recalcitrant means marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority.
- What is recalcitrant in Hindi?
- Recalcitrant in Hindi is अड़ियल (aṛiyal), दुर्दम्य (durdamya), बाग़ी (bāġī). See Recalcitrant meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use recalcitrant in a sentence?
- The incentive to this first-class performance was a 14 min. late start from Hellifield, due to a recalcitrant van door which could not be properly secured.
- What part of speech is recalcitrant?
- Recalcitrant can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce recalcitrant?
- Recalcitrant is pronounced /ɹɪˈkæl.sɪ.tɹənt/.
Words near recalcitrant in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: recalcitrant (page history and authors); recalcitrant (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); recalcitrant (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); recalcitrant (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-recalcitrant.ogg.
Cite this entry: “recalcitrant.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/recalcitrant. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.