1
as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
the manager worried that the recalcitrant employee would try to undermine his authority
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stubborn
given to resisting control or discipline by others
a heart-to-heart talk with the recalcitrant youth revealed that he had a troubled life at home
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of recalcitrant
Pritzker recently proposed a much more far-reaching set of bills that combine carrots and sticks to deal with recalcitrant municipalities.
—
Michael Schill,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
The failure of the network computer also made Ellison weirdly recalcitrant about the cloud.
—
Elizabeth Lopatto,
The Verge,
29 Apr. 2026
Consciousness may be the most recalcitrant concept of all.
—
Dan Turello,
New Yorker,
10 Jan. 2026
Adams had carefully shepherded it through an often-recalcitrant City Council and through the gauntlet of demands coming from both the real estate lobby and pro-housing advocates.
—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
1 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for recalcitrant
Michael Schill,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
The failure of the network computer also made Ellison weirdly recalcitrant about the cloud.
—
Elizabeth Lopatto,
The Verge,
29 Apr. 2026
Consciousness may be the most recalcitrant concept of all.
—
Dan Turello,
New Yorker,
10 Jan. 2026
Adams had carefully shepherded it through an often-recalcitrant City Council and through the gauntlet of demands coming from both the real estate lobby and pro-housing advocates.
—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
1 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for recalcitrant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recalcitrant
Adjective
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To promote the new launch, the duo teamed up on a campaign captured on the streets of Paris by photographer Daniel Roché, with the aim of creating a series of images that reflects the fusion of youth culture and a cool, rebellious edge, Asics said.
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The last of the rebellious slaveholding states was finally under federal control.
Adjective
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Dealing with stubborn dark spots?
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But when the adults decide to cancel Christmas and the magical star fades away, a stubborn little bird named Pikkuli sets off on a winter adventure with friends to find the Starlight Reindeer and bring back the light.
Adjective
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Starmer had previously vowed to stand in any formal Labour leadership race triggered by rebel lawmakers who feating a 2029 election wipeout sought to replace him.
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Many rebel groups are offshoots of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which had been fighting to overthrow the government since the 1960s and had been the country's largest guerrilla organization.
Adjective
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Even as the Vegas Golden Knights age out and the Oilers fade, the Sharks are undeniably perched to be an intractable problem for Vancouver in the Pacific over the course of the next decade (or more).
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That brief relief seemingly ignored an announcement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just a few days earlier, that could create more intractable trouble for businesses in the months ahead.
Adjective
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To a defiant Son, however, the party hasn’t even started.
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Terri Hupfer, draped in a Pride flag and a Giants’ issued Pride T-shirt, drove 90 minutes from her Delta home to join Tuesday’s pregame gathering, which was organized online and drew more media and police than defiant (or supportive) fans.
Adjective
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These warm hundreds of tonnes of refractory bricks to temperatures up to 1,500 °C.
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This is, by far, the most common TES approach in industry, with most companies using legacy technologies like refractory bricks and molten salt to store heat in insulated shipping containers.
Adjective
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What at first felt fun — like guiding a sweet wayward child — soon felt like a crazymaking psychological experiment.
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Power brings a warmer and more wayward sensibility to such material than, say, the German photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher, whose deadpan grids of coal tipples and water towers drained industrial structures of affect.
Adjective
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The cold water gasp reflex is completely involuntary and uncontrollable.
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This is an ignoble war making monsters and fools out of its participants, and against the uncontrollable weapons that are dragons, everyone’s resolve is crumbling.
Cite this Entry
“Recalcitrant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recalcitrant. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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