Uneasily impatient under restriction, opposition, criticism, or delay.
Resisting control; difficult to control.
Refusing to move. Used of a horse or other animal.
[Middle English restif, stationary, from Old French, from rester, to remain, from Latin restāre, to keep back : re-, re- + stāre, to stand; see stā- in Indo-European roots.] res'tive·ly adv., res'tive·ness n.
Usage Note: Restive is properly applied to a feeling of impatience or uneasiness induced by external coercion or restriction, and is not a general synonym for restless:The government has done nothing to ease export restrictions, and domestic manufacturers are growing restive (not restless). The atmosphere in the office was congenial, but after five years I began to grow restless (not 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.