adjective / noun

recalcitrant

rih-KAL-sih-trunt/rɪˈkælsɪtrənt/

Stubbornly resisting authority, control, or guidance, or a person who does so.

The recalcitrant mule plants its feet and refuses to follow the handler.

An alert mule stubbornly refuses to follow its handler: its feet are planted wide, its body leans backward, and its head pulls against the lead while the handler beckons it forward.

Etymology

reLatinback

+calcitrLatinto kick

+antLatinpresent participle

The pieces describe kicking back, originally said of horses. That physical resistance became an image for disobedience: a recalcitrant person stubbornly resists authority or control.

In context

The People Profiles47:44

the Khmer Rouge refused to disarm its troops in western Cambodia, in response Sen and Sihanouk proved similarly recalcitrant, as a result sporadic fighting continued throughout the early 1990s

Pol Pot - The Khmer Rouge & the Killing Fields Documentary

More examples

A recalcitrant employee ignores repeated requests to submit his reports.
She remains recalcitrant despite the coach's advice to change her technique.
The remaining recalcitrants refuse to comply with the court's order.

Forms

recalcitrant · recalcitrants

recalcitrance noun — Stubborn resistance to authority, control, or guidance.

Similar words

defiant: Emphasizes open challenge to authority rather than stubborn noncompliance.
obstinate: Describes stubbornness generally, not necessarily resistance to authority.
uncooperative: Means unwilling to help or participate, without necessarily challenging authority.