restive
Meaning
- Impatient under delay, duress, or control.
- Resistant to control; stubborn.
- Refusing to move, especially in a forward direction.
Synonyms
nervous
highly strung
be restive
difficult to tame
cat-witted
difficile
Hyphenated as
res‧tive
Pronounced as (IPA)
/ˈɹɛstɪv/
Etymology
In summary
Modification of earlier restiff, from Middle English restyf, from Old French restif, from rester (“stay, remain”), from Latin restō. * Shares an etymology with rest ("remain," obsolete) *Merriam-Webster states that this word was originally used to describe horses that disobeyed commands. Presumably, then, the word came to mean "fidgety" or "anxious" more broadly.
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Notes