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Restive is descended from the Anglo-French verb rester, meaning "to stop, resist, or remain." Its initial meaning in the 15th century was "stubbornly resisting control or guidance; obstinate in refusal," and for some time the word was primarily applied to animals such as horses. Over the next few centuries, restive gained additional, closely related meanings (such as "inflexible," "sluggish," and "persistent") and the word often described people as well as animals. In the 19th century this semantic drift extended to encompass the meaning "marked by impatience or uneasiness." Although the original "balky" sense of restive hasn't died out completely, it is overshadowed by this more recent "fidgety or impatient" one. Some usage guides still recommend against using restive in this modern sense, despite well over a century and a half of skilled writers employing it. If you're among the restive (earlier meaning) ones who balk at new meanings of words, we apologize if this news makes you feel restive (newer one).
Examples of restive in a Sentence
Zaur Shiriyev, Foreign Affairs, 26 May 2025
Moving out of Seattle also put almost 2,000 miles between the company’s top brass and its restive unions, which might have been one of the biggest attractions from the corner-office point of view.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2025
After South Sudan declared independence, the regions bordering the breakaway country remained restive, and the Bashir regime began deploying a new paramilitary force there.
—Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
Finding their tear gas ineffective in the freshening spring breeze and the crowd increasingly restive, the guardsmen retreated a short way.
—Kalyan Singhal, Baltimore Sun, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for restive
Cite this Entry
“Restive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/restive. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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