restive

[ res-tiv ]

adjective

1. impatient of control, restraint, or delay, as persons; restless; uneasy.

   Synonyms: unquiet, nervous

   Antonyms: quiet, patient

2. refractory; stubborn.

   Synonyms: obstinate, disobedient, recalcitrant

   Antonyms: tractable, obedient

3. refusing to go forward; balky:

   a restive horse.

restive

/ ˈrɛstɪv /

adjective

1. restless, nervous, or uneasy
2. impatient of control or authority

Derived Forms

• ˈrestiveness, noun
• ˈrestively, adverb

Other Words From

• restive·ly adverb
• restive·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of restive¹

1375–1425; rest ² + -ive; replacing late Middle English restif stationary, balking < Old French: inert

Word History and Origins

Origin of restive¹

C16: from Old French restif balky, from rester to remain

Example Sentences

The Harris campaign itself believes she lost to Trump because she was facing a restive public angry over the economic and social turbulence in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic.

From BBC

Cho, who describes himself as a liberation leader, is one of the most prominent separatist leaders shaping the conflict in Cameroon’s restive Anglophone regions.

From BBC

Cho’s Ambazonia Governing Council has imposed a “liberation tax” which compels people living in the restive Anglophone regions to pay a certain amount of money to fund the conflict against the government.

From BBC

The stock has struggled, investors are restive and its key studios have been stretched.

From Los Angeles Times

The stock has struggled, investors are restive and its key studios have been stretched.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• agitated
• fractious
• jittery
• recalcitrant
• restless
• tense
• uneasy
• unruly