Standard Lemma guide

recalcitrance

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɹɪˈkæl.sɪˌtɹəns/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: R IH0 K AE1 L S AH0 T R AH0 N S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state of being recalcitrant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the trait of being unmanageable

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: refractoriness, unmanageableness, recalcitrancy

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: intractability, intractableness

History

Etymology

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

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: récalcitrance — state of being recalcitrant
  • Italian: recalcitranza — state of being recalcitrant
  • Polish: krnąbrność — state of being recalcitrant
  • Polish: nieposłuszność — state of being recalcitrant
  • Serbo-Croatian: odupiranje — state of being recalcitrant