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recalcitrant - 5 dictionary results

re⋅cal⋅ci⋅trant

  [ri-kal-si-truhnt]
Use recalcitrant in a Sentence
–adjective
1. resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory.
2. hard to deal with, manage, or operate.
–noun
3. a recalcitrant person.
Origin:
1835–45; < L recalcitrant- (s. of recalcitrāns, prp. of recalcitrāre to kick back), equiv. to re- re- + calcitr(āre) to strike with the heels, kick (deriv. of calx heel) + -ant- -ant

Related forms:
re⋅cal⋅ci⋅trance, re⋅cal⋅ci⋅tran⋅cy, noun

Synonyms:
1. resistant, rebellious, opposed. See unruly.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To recalcitrant
re·cal·ci·trant   (rĭ-kāl'sĭ-trənt)   
adj.  Marked by stubborn resistance to and defiance of authority or guidance. See Synonyms at unruly.
n.  A recalcitrant person.

[Late Latin recalcitrāns, recalcitrant-, present participle of recalcitrāre, to be disobedient, from Latin, to deny access : re-, re- + calcitrāre, to kick (from calx, calc-, heel).]
re·cal'ci·trance, re·cal'ci·tran·cy n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Recalcitrant

Re*cal"ci*trant\, a. [L. recalcitrans, p. pr. of recalcitrare to kick back; pref. re- re- + calcitrare to kick, fr. calx heel. Cf. Inculcate.] Kicking back; recalcitrating; hence, showing repugnance or opposition; refractory.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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recalcitrant 
1843, from Fr. récalcitrant, lit. "kicking back" (17c.-18c.), pp. of recalcitrare "to kick back," from re- "back" + L. calcitrare "to kick," from calx (gen. calcis) "heel." Verb recalcitrate "to kick out" is attested from 1623; sense of "resist obstinately" is from 1759.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: re·cal·ci·trant
Pronunciation: ri-'kal-s&-tr&nt
Function: adjective
: not responsive to treatment recalcitrant forms of the disease —Journal of the American Medical Association>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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