recalcitrant

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective stubbornly resistant to authority or control
  2. adjective marked by stubborn resistance to authority

Etymology

Borrowed from French récalcitrant, from Latin recalcitrāns, recalcitrantis, present participle of recalcitrō, recalcitrāre (“be disobedient, kick back [as a horse]”), from calx (“heel”), 1820s.

In classic literature

Synonyms

fractious, refractory

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