Adjacent Words

Restive definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RESTIVE, RESTIVENESS. [See Restif.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: being in a tense state [syn: edgy, high-strung, highly strung, jittery, jumpy, nervy, overstrung, restive, uptight]
2: impatient especially under restriction or delay; "the government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English restyf, from Anglo-French restif, from rester to stop, resist, remain Date: 15th century 1. stubbornly resisting control ; balky 2. marked by impatience or uneasiness ; fidgety Synonyms: see contrary • restively adverb • restiveness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 fidgety; restless. 2 (of a horse) refusing to advance, stubbornly standing still or moving backwards or sideways; jibbing; refractory. 3 (of a person) unmanageable; rejecting control. Derivatives: restively adv. restiveness n. Etymology: ME f. OF restif -ive f. Rmc (as REST(2))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Restive Rest"ive (r?st"?v), a. [OF. restif, F. r['e]tif, fr. L. restare to stay back, withstand, resist. See Rest remainder, and cf. Restiff.] . Unwilling to go on; obstinate in refusing to move forward; stubborn; drawing back. Restive or resty, drawing back, instead of going forward, as some horses do. --E. Philips (1658). The people remarked with awe and wonder that the beasts which were to drag him [Abraham Holmes] to the gallows became restive, and went back. --Macaulay. 2. Inactive; sluggish. [Obs.] --Sir T. Browne. 3. Impatient under coercion, chastisement, or opposition; refractory. 4. Uneasy; restless; averse to standing still; fidgeting about; -- applied especially to horses. --Trench. -- Rest"ive, adv. -- Rest"ive*ness, n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Restive Rest"ive (r?st"?v), a. [OF. restif, F. r['e]tif, fr. L. restare to stay back, withstand, resist. See Rest remainder, and cf. Restiff.] . Unwilling to go on; obstinate in refusing to move forward; stubborn; drawing back. Restive or resty, drawing back, instead of going forward, as some horses do. --E. Philips (1658). The people remarked with awe and wonder that the beasts which were to drag him [Abraham Holmes] to the gallows became restive, and went back. --Macaulay. 2. Inactive; sluggish. [Obs.] --Sir T. Browne. 3. Impatient under coercion, chastisement, or opposition; refractory. 4. Uneasy; restless; averse to standing still; fidgeting about; -- applied especially to horses. --Trench. -- Rest"ive, adv. -- Rest"ive*ness, n.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you are restive, you are impatient, bored, or dissatisfied. (FORMAL) The audience grew restive. ADJ • restiveness There were signs of restiveness among the younger members.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Stubborn, mulish, restiff, obstinate, stopping, unwilling. 2. Uneasy, impatient, restless, ill at ease, unquiet, recalcitrant.

Moby Thesaurus

antsy, antsy-pantsy, anxious, apathetic, backward, balking, balky, beefing, bellyaching, beyond control, bigoted, bitching, breachy, breathless, bulldogged, bulletheaded, bullheaded, case-hardened, chafing, complaining, complaintful, contumacious, crabbing, crabby, cranky, croaking, cross-grained, defiant, dilatory, disappointed, discontented, disgruntled, displeased, dissatisfied, dogged, dogmatic, eager, edgy, envious, excited, fanatic, faultfinding, fidgety, fluttery, fractious, fretful, fretting, froward, fussy, griping, grouchy, grousing, growling, grudging, grumbling, hardheaded, hasty, headstrong, hopped-up, impatient, impatient of control, impetuous, in a lather, in a stew, in a sweat, incorrigible, indifferent, indocile, indomitable, insuppressible, intolerant, intractable, irrepressible, laggard, loath, malcontent, malcontented, mulish, murmuring, muttering, nervy, obstinate, obstreperous, on edge, opinionated, ornery, out of hand, out of humor, overzealous, peevish, perfunctory, persevering, pertinacious, perverse, petulant, pigheaded, querulant, querulous, rebellious, recalcitrant, refractory, reluctant, renitent, resentful, resistant, resisting, restless, self-willed, set, shrewish, slow, slow to, squirming, squirmy, stiff-necked, strong-willed, strongheaded, stubborn, sulky, sullen, tenacious, tense, unaccepting, unaccommodating, unbiddable, uncontrollable, uncooperative, uneasy, unenthusiastic, unfulfilled, ungovernable, ungratified, unhappy, unmalleable, unmanageable, unmoldable, unpatient, unquiet, unregenerate, unrestful, unruly, unsatisfied, unsettled, unsubmissive, unzealous, uptight, wayward, whiny, wild, willful, wrongheaded