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Webster's New World College Dictionary » recalcitrant
recalcitrant
recalcitrant definition
re·cal·ci·trant (ri kal′si trənt)
adjective
- refusing to obey authority, custom, regulation, etc.; stubbornly defiant
- hard to handle or deal with
Etymology: L recalcitrans, prp. of recalcitrare, to kick back (in LL, to disobey) < re-, back + calcitrare, to kick < calx, heel: see calcar
noun
a recalcitrant person
Related Forms:
- recalcitrance re·cal′·ci·trance noun or recalcitrancy re·cal′·ci·trancy
- recalcitrantly re·cal′·ci·trantly adverb
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