1. recalcitrant Balky, mulish, obstinate, and stubborn are synonyms of restive only in an infrequent if not obsolete use; the supposed sense of "tending to rest," "standing stubbornly still," is scarcely s Synonyms: restive, balky, impatient, rebellious, restless, fidgety, intractable, recalcitrant, skittish, fractious, mulish, refractory, stubborn, fretful, mutinous, resentful, unruly, frisky, obstinate, restiff, vicious Antonyms: docile, manageable, passive, quiet, tractable, gentle, obedient, peaceable, submissive, yielding
Synonyms for recalcitrant 
