Definition of Recalcitrant

1. Adjective. Stubbornly resistant to authority or control. "A refractory child"

Exact synonyms: Fractious, Refractory
Similar to: Disobedient
Derivative terms: Fractiousness, Refractoriness

2. Adjective. Marked by stubborn resistance to authority. "The University suspended the most recalcitrant demonstrators"
Similar to: Defiant, Noncompliant
Derivative terms: Recalcitrancy

Definition of Recalcitrant

1. a. Kicking back; recalcitrating; hence, showing repugnance or opposition; refractory.

Definition of Recalcitrant

1. Adjective. Marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority. ¹

2. Adjective. Unwilling to cooperate socially. ¹

3. Adjective. Difficult to deal with or to operate. ¹

4. Noun. A person who is recalcitrant. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Recalcitrant

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Recalcitrant

1. Resistant to microbial attack. (09 Oct 1997)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Recalcitrant

rec'd
rec A protein
rec B protein
rec room
rec rooms
recache
recached
recaches
recaching
recal
recalcification
recalcitrance
recalcitrances
recalcitrancies
recalcitrancy
recalcitrant (current term)
recalcitrants
recalcitrate
recalcitration
recalcitrations
recalculate
recalculated
recalculates
recalculating
recalculation
recalculations
recalescence
recalescences
recalibrate
recalibrated

Literary usage of Recalcitrant

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Cambridge Modern History by Adolphus William Ward, George Walter Prothero (1907)
"Frederick Henry constantly found his proposals and projects thwarted by the recalcitrant temper of Amsterdam. In 1639 the Burgomaster even went so far as to ..."

2. The Quarterly Review by William Gifford, John Taylor Coleridge, John Gibson Lockhart, Whitwell Elwin, William Macpherson, William Smith, John Murray, Rowland Edmund Prothero Ernle, George Walter Prothero (1902)
"ties threatened were ridiculous; yet no real attempt seems to have been made to levy upon the recalcitrant burghers' property when the proclamation failed ..."

3. Public Papers of George Clinton, First Governor of New York, 1777-1795, 1801 by George Clinton, New York (State). Governor, 1801-1804 (George Clinton), Hugh Hastings, James Austin Holden, New York (State). State Historian (1900)
"recalcitrant MILITIA. Governor Clinton Prefers to Dismiss Them Rather Than Allow Them to Make Trouble. Albany 25th March 1778. Sir, Lient. Col. ..."

4. English Local Government from the Revolution to the Municipal Corporations by Sidney Webb, Beatrice Potter Webb (1906)
"1 (f) The recalcitrant Minority The democratic and efficient extra-legal constitution spontaneously worked out, in the course of a century, by some of the ..."

5. Heroes and Heroines of Fiction: Modern Prose and Poetry by William Shepard Walsh (1914)
"... and demonstrates his courage and fertility of resource in getting the better of his recalcitrant valet, Morgan. ..."

6. The New York Times Current HistoryWorld War, 1914-1918 (1920)
"... great extent upon the moral sentiment of each nation to comply with Its own obligation or the enforcement of such obligation upon a recalcitrant member. ..."

7. Heroes and Heroines of Fiction: Modern Prose and Poetry; Famous Characters by William Shepard Walsh (1914)
"... and demonstrates his courage and fertility of resource in getting the better of his recalcitrant valet, Morgan. ..."

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