recalcitrant

/ri-ˈkal-sə-trənt/

Late Latin recalcitrant-, recalcitrans, present participle of recalcitrare to be stubbornly disobedient, from Latin, to kick back, from re- + calcitrare to kick, from calc-, calx heel

adjective

  1. obstinately defiant of authority or restraint

  2. difficult to manage or operate

  3. not responsive to treatment

unruly ungovernable intractable refractory recalcitrant willful headstrong mean not submissive to government or control. unruly implies lack of discipline or incapacity for discipline and often connotes waywardness or turbulence of behavior. ungovernable implies either an escape from control or guidance or a state of being unsubdued and incapable of controlling oneself or being controlled by others.