recalcitrant

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority.

   • His nimble fancy was recalcitrant to mental discipline.
   • 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.
   • 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.
2. 2

   Unwilling to cooperate socially.

3. 3

   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.
   • 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.
   • 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.
4. ›+ 2 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Not viable for an extended period

      Not viable for an extended period; damaged by drying or freezing.

   2. 5

      A person who is recalcitrant.

The neighborhood

• antonymcompliantantonym(s) of “stubbornly unwilling to obey authority”
• antonymobedientantonym(s) of “stubbornly unwilling to obey authority”
• antonymamenableantonym(s) of “difficult to operate or deal with”
• antonymcooperativeantonym(s) of “difficult to operate or deal with”
• antonymeagerantonym(s) of “difficult to operate or deal with”
• antonymorthodoxantonym(s) of “not viable for long period”