Recalcitrant

adjective (also noun)

/rɪˈkælsɪtrənt/

Obstinately defiant of authority, control, or restraint; stubbornly uncooperative and resistant to guidance or management.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

A genuinely cooperative federalism cannot be coerced into being; the Union must persuade rather than penalise recalcitrant states, lest fiscal arm-twisting erode the very spirit of consultative governance the Constitution envisages.

Synonyms

obstinatedefiantintractableunrulyrefractoryinsubordinate

Antonyms

compliantobedientdocileamenable

🌱 Word Family

recalcitrance (n), recalcitrancy (n), recalcitrantly (adv), recalcitrate (v, rare)

🔡 Root

Late Latin recalcitrāre = to kick back; re- = back + calcitrāre = to kick, from calx (stem calc-) = heel

📜 Etymology

From Late Latin recalcitrare 'to kick back' (originally of horses), from re- 'back' + calcitrare 'to kick', from calx (stem calc-) 'heel'; entered English via French récalcitrant in the early 19th century.

🧠 Memory Hook

Root calx = 'heel': picture a horse that "kicks back" with its heels against the rider — a recalcitrant beast refusing all control.

⚖️ Polity & Constitution 📖 Seen in: Fundamental Rights — Part III (Article...

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