recalcitrant

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /rɪˈkælsɪtrənt/ UK /rɪˈkælsɪtrənt/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
stubbornly resistant to authority, control, or guidance

The recalcitrant mule refused to budge from the middle of the road.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · stubbornly resistant to... defiant unruly obstinate intractable refractory insubordinate stubborn

Opposites

compliant obedient docile submissive

Word family

Derived forms recalcitrancerecalcitrancy

Related forms recalcitratecalcitrate

Etymology

From Latin recalcitrant-, present participle of recalcitrare ('to kick back'), from re- ('back') + calcitrare ('to kick'), from calx ('heel').

recalcitrare Latin calx Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives

# recalcitrant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** rɪˈkælsɪtrənt
**IPA (UK):** rɪˈkælsɪtrənt

## Meanings
1. stubbornly resistant to authority, control, or guidance

## Examples
- The recalcitrant mule refused to budge from the middle of the road.

## Synonyms
- defiant
- unruly
- obstinate
- intractable
- refractory
- insubordinate
- stubborn

## Antonyms
- compliant
- obedient
- docile
- submissive

## Derived Forms
- recalcitrance
- recalcitrancy

## Related Forms
- recalcitrate
- calcitrate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: recalcitrare
- Root: calx

## Etymology
From Latin recalcitrant-, present participle of recalcitrare ('to kick back'), from re- ('back') + calcitrare ('to kick'), from calx ('heel').

## AI Etymology
Recalcitrant comes from Latin recalcitrant-, present participle of recalcitrare ('to kick back'), from re- ('back') + calcitrare ('to kick'), from calx ('heel'). The historical chain includes Latin recalcitrare and Latin calx. Older glosses in the chain include "to kick back", "back", "to kick", and "heel", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, recalcitrant is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as an adjective, with the sense "stubbornly resistant to authority, control, or guidance". English derivatives include recalcitrance and recalcitrancy; related forms include recalcitrate and calcitrate. The result is an English adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Law & Government
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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recalcitrant

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