restive

restive (ˈrɛstɪv)

—*adj*
1.	restless, nervous, or uneasy
2.	impatient of control or authority

[C16: from Old French restif balky, from rester to remain]

'restively

—*adv*

'restiveness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

restive

c.1410, restyffe "not moving forward," from M.Fr. restif (fem. restive) "motionless," from rester "to remain" (see rest (2)). Sense of "unmanageable" (1687) evolved via notion of a horse refusing to go forward.

Example sentences

The longshoremen, who only went back to work ten days ago, are again restive.

Soon after it first appeared last spring, city fathers grew restive.

Where the former film is agonized and sullen, the latter is mischievous and

restive, daring us to be dismayed by its insolence.

Herrera observed that claimant had a restive disposition, and structure and

reinforcement were used to redirect him.

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Related Words

restful restless

restless

Matching Quote

"... the girls who came at dawn
To pay a visit to the young child, and how, when he grew up to be a man
The same restive ceremony replaced the limited years between,
Only now he was old, and forced to begin the journey to the sun."

-John Ashbery