ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Restive

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈɹɛstɪv/ · Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Restive is an adjective meaning Impatient under delay, duress, or control.

Meaning

Impatient under delay, duress, or control.

More Meanings

  1. Resistant to control; stubborn.
  2. Refusing to move, especially in a forward direction.

Example Sentences

The horses were now more restive than ever, and Johann was trying to hold them in.
But a restive class of Google executives worry that the company is showing cracks.
It’s clear that at least some shareholders had become restive about Zuckerberg’s pursuit of a fatuous virtual-reality fantasy, […]
[...] news of their defeat had spread across the countryside and made the animals on the neighbouring farms more restive than ever.

Synonyms for restive

Depending on context, synonyms include anxious, fidgety, restless, uneasy, rebellious, recalcitrant.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include impatient, nervy, edgy, high-strung, overstrung, jumpy.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.