recalcitrant

adjective

re·​cal·​ci·​trant ri-ˈkal-sə-trənt 

1

: obstinately defiant of authority or restraint

2

a

: difficult to manage or operate

b

: not responsive to treatment

c

: resistant

this subject is recalcitrant both to observation and to experiment

—G. G. Simpson

recalcitrant noun

Did you know?

Long before any human was dubbed "recalcitrant" in English (that first occurred in the 18th century), there were stubborn mules (and horses) kicking back their heels. The ancient Romans noted as much (Pliny the Elder among them), and they had a word for it: recalcitrare, which literally means "to kick back." (Its root calc-, meaning "heel," is also the root of calcaneus, the large bone of the heel in humans.) Certainly Roman citizens in Pliny's time were sometimes willful and hardheaded—as attested by various Latin words meaning "stubborn"—but it wasn't until later that writers of Late Latin applied recalcitrare and its derivative adjective to humans who were stubborn as mules.

Synonyms

• rebellious
• rebel
• defiant
• stubborn

Choose the Right Synonym for recalcitrant

unruly, ungovernable, intractable, refractory, recalcitrant, willful, headstrong mean not submissive to government or control.

unruly implies lack of discipline or incapacity for discipline and often connotes waywardness or turbulence of behavior.

unruly children

ungovernable implies either an escape from control or guidance or a state of being unsubdued and incapable of controlling oneself or being controlled by others.

ungovernable rage

intractable suggests stubborn resistance to guidance or control.

intractable opponents of the hazardous-waste dump

refractory stresses resistance to attempts to manage or to mold.

special schools for refractory children

recalcitrant suggests determined resistance to or defiance of authority.

acts of sabotage by a recalcitrant populace

willful implies an obstinate determination to have one's own way.

a willful disregard for the rights of others

headstrong suggests self-will impatient of restraint, advice, or suggestion.

a headstrong young cavalry officer

Examples of recalcitrant in a Sentence

But Smith managed to rally and to learn, through trial and error, how to milk what he needed out of an often recalcitrant medical system. —Gina Kolata, New York Times Book Review, 7 Sept. 1997

For anyone who has ever struggled to extract a recalcitrant cork from a bottle … the value of a good corkscrew is a given. —Ettagale Blauer, Wine Spectator, 31 Oct. 1996

In November 1891, James Naismith, a 32-year-old Canadian-born instructor at the International Y.M.C.A. Training School in Springfield, was asked to invent an indoor game to help tame the members of a recalcitrant gym class. —Scott Ellsworth, New York Times, 29 May 1994

George and I were down in a trench hacking at one particularly recalcitrant oak carcass when a local farmer pulled up in his truck. —P. J. O'Rourke, Republican Party Reptile, 1987

You are not the kind of person who beats on recalcitrant vending machines. —Jay McInerney, Bright Lights, Big City, 1984

the manager worried that the recalcitrant employee would try to undermine his authority

a heart-to-heart talk with the recalcitrant youth revealed that he had a troubled life at home

Recent Examples on the Web

Ukraine has seen Europe step financially and militarily into the void left by America, and then seen the same recalcitrant White House offer them its best missiles. —Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025

William meanwhile remained recalcitrant. —Stacy Schiff, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025

Anderson plunges the audience into the rebels’ point of view, immersing us in the recalcitrant pride and swagger of Perfidia Beverly Hills, a revolutionary leader played by Teyana Taylor with a hypnotic sneer of defiance. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 17 Sep. 2025

Congress remains recalcitrant to gun reform even after the gruesome scenes at Parkland, Uvalde, and Sandy Hook. —John J. Donohue, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin recalcitrant-, recalcitrans, present participle of recalcitrare to be stubbornly disobedient, from Latin, to kick back, from re- + calcitrare to kick, from calc-, calx heel

First Known Use

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

recalcitrant

adjective

re·​cal·​ci·​trant ri-ˈkal-sə-trənt 

: stubbornly refusing to give in to authority

Medical Definition

recalcitrant

adjective

re·​cal·​ci·​trant ri-ˈkal-sə-trənt 

: not responsive to treatment

severe recalcitrant psoriasis

recalcitrant warts