recalcitrant
adjective/rɪˈkælsɪtrənt/
/rɪˈkælsɪtrənt/
(formal)- unwilling to obey rules or follow instructions; difficult to control
- a recalcitrant child
- He was like a teacher encouraging a recalcitrant pupil.
- One option is to threaten recalcitrant ministers with the sack.
Word Originmid 19th cent.: from Latin recalcitrant- ‘kicking out with the heels’, from the verb recalcitrare, based on calx, calc- ‘heel’.
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recalcitrant