20091212Word of the Day

junli

recalcitrant

\rih-KAL-sih-truhnt\ , adjective;
1.Stubbornly resistant to and defiant of authority or restraint.
形容词 a.
1.反抗的;顽强的;不听话的
名词 n.
1.倔强的人;不驯服的动物

Quotes:
If they lingered too long, Clarice hurried them along in the same annoyed way she rushed recalcitrant goats through the gate.
~Kaye Gibbons, On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon
Even then it took a sympathetic bankruptcy judge to convince a group of recalcitrant lenders that it was in their best interest to drop their opposition.
~"So Far So Good", New York Times, May 18, 2009
This recalcitrant fellow was the only dissenter in an otherwise unanimous recommendation.
~Sherwin B. Nuland, "Indoctrinology", New Republic, February 19, 2001

Origin:
Recalcitrant derives from Latin recalcitrare, "to kick back," from re-, "back" + calcitrare, "to strike with the heel, to kick," from calx, calc-, "the heel."