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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective restive contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of restive are balky, contrary, perverse, and wayward. While all these words mean "inclined to resist authority or control," restive suggests unwillingness or inability to submit to discipline or follow orders.

tired soldiers growing restive

When would balky be a good substitute for restive?

The synonyms balky and restive are sometimes interchangeable, but balky suggests a refusing to proceed in a desired direction or course of action.

a balky witness

When can contrary be used instead of restive?

Although the words contrary and restive have much in common, contrary implies a temperamental unwillingness to accept orders or advice.

a contrary child

When is perverse a more appropriate choice than restive?

In some situations, the words perverse and restive are roughly equivalent. However, perverse may imply wrongheaded, determined, or cranky opposition to what is reasonable or normal.

a perverse, intractable critic

When could wayward be used to replace restive?

While the synonyms wayward and restive are close in meaning, wayward suggests strong-willed capriciousness and irregularity in behavior.

a school for wayward youths

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of restive Advertisement Advertisement The Trump Administration brokered a cease-fire between Israel and Syria, U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said on Friday, but some within the Administration have grown restive over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recalcitrance, Axios reported on Sunday. Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 22 July 2025 But the increasing Muslim majority was growing restive. John Carlisle, Freep.com, 31 May 2025 While Pakistani security forces frequently target TTP hideouts in the restive northwest and elsewhere, such operations in Kashmir are rare. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 30 May 2025 The event threatened to inflame tensions that are rife in the restive city amid nearly 600 days of war in Gaza. Wafaa Shurafa, Chicago Tribune, 26 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for restive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for restive
Adjective
  • The Western world is experiencing something of a psychedelic renaissance, with an increasing amount of interest in drugs that decades ago were considered rebellious and dangerous to some groups but fun to others who used it while clubbing and attending raves.
    Soph Warnes, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Bob and Zoyd are both paranoid in the wake of their rebellious pasts.
    Andrew McGowan, Variety, 26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The company’s movement language—restless, precise, elastic—has built a home for stories that were long told elsewhere, or not at all.
    Skylar Mitchell, Essence, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Their deeper role is to host inquietud—the restless desire to know more, to question assumptions, to look for connections across disciplines and geographies.
    Javier Garcia del Moral September 26, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Nine months after the longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled by a rebel offensive, Syria faces a litany of new challenges.
    Caroline Rose, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Iran and later Russia dispatched troops to save him, while Turkey and Gulf states backed rebel militias.
    Robin Yassin-Kassab, Time, 17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Though the song order is Easter egg intentional – as with everything Swift – it’s bookended by a declaration of romantic salvation and a narrative from the perspective of a weary, yet defiant showgirl.
    Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Polis has sought to avoid public fights with the federal government over immigration, unlike his more publicly defiant counterparts in Illinois and California.
    Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Originally bred in Germany to hunt badgers, these small canines are energetic, bold and stubborn.
    Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Both options meant navigating some stubborn supporters.
    Kevin Coulson, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Restive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/restive. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.

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