Restive
['restɪv] or ['rɛstɪv]
Definition
(adj.) impatient especially under restriction or delay; 'the government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive' .
Typed by Garrett--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Unwilling to go on; obstinate in refusing to move forward; stubborn; drawing back.
(a.) Inactive; sluggish.
(a.) Impatient under coercion, chastisement, or opposition; refractory.
(a.) Uneasy; restless; averse to standing still; fidgeting about; -- applied especially to horses.
Edited by Estelle
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Stubborn, mulish, restiff, obstinate.[2]. Uneasy, impatient, restless, ill at ease, unquiet.
Edited by Bessie
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Stubborn, obstinate, uneasy, balky, recalcitrant
ANT:Docile, manageable, tractable
Editor: Simon
Definition
adj. unwilling to go forward: obstinate: jibbing back like a restive horse.—adv. Res′tively.—n. Res′tiveness.
Checked by Jacques
Examples
- Yet I am of opinion, this defect arises chiefly from a perverse, restive disposition; for they are cunning, malicious, treacherous, and revengeful. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- It did not succeed because human nature was contrary and restive. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Mr Pancks was the third, and carried his hat under his arm for the liberation of his restive hair; the weather being extremely hot. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- She became restive, insisted upon her rights, and finally announced her positive intention of going to a certain ball. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- No,' said Mr Wegg, who was growing restive under this examination. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Some time after midnight, growing restive under the storm and the continuous pain, I moved back to the log-house under the bank. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- He was restive under these victories and often asked: What did that pirate say? Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The restive little man detested spur or curb: against whatever was urgent or obligatory, he was sure to revolt. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
Checked by Jacques