recalcitrance

UK/ɹɪˈkæl.sɪˌtɹəns/US/ɹɪˈkæl.sɪˌtɹəns/

nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,547 of 15,258Too rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Recalcitrance is stubborn refusal to obey. Meet with recalcitrance, sheer recalcitrance, the recalcitrance of the staff.

It is used from above and assumes an authority that ought to be obeyed. The Latin means kicking back with the heels, which is what a horse does when it will not be led.

Definitions of recalcitrance

1nounrecalcitranceStubborn refusal to obey.C2
“The child's recalcitrance at bedtime left his parents exhausted every night.”

recalcitrance is a stubbornness.

Where it comes from

Latin recalcitrare means to kick back, from re- plus calx, a heel.

French
récalcitrance
English, today
recalcitrance

In use since at least 1856 (Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, published 1985). From French récalcitrance.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

recalcitrance in the wild

The evolved resistance to degradation or even separation is referred to as recalcitrance.
Lignocellulosic biomass
Overcoming this recalcitrance to produce useful, high value products requires a combination of heat, chemicals, enzymes, and microorganisms.
Lignocellulosic biomass
One of the most famous incidents of recalcitrance to Olaf's attempts at coerced conversion to Christianity, according to the Sagas, is that of Raud the Strong.
Raud the Strong
Patricia Berjak was a South African botanist known for her work on the biology of plant seeds, especially seed recalcitrance.
Patricia Berjak

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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