Literary notes about Recalcitrant (AI summary)
"Recalcitrant" is frequently used in literature to evoke the image of stubborn defiance against authority or convention. Authors employ the term to describe characters, groups, or institutions that resist control or refuse to conform. In some narratives, it appears as a marker for political dissent or unruly behavior, as when it denotes groups challenging established power structures [1], [2] or military leaders hampering decisiveness [3]. In personal and social contexts, the word characterizes individuals whose unyielding nature—be it that of an indomitable spirit or a recalcitrant child—drives conflict and tension [4], [5]. It is this layered ability to signal both literal and metaphorical resistance, whether in defiant behavior or obstinate ideology, that has cemented "recalcitrant" as a powerful descriptive tool in the writer’s arsenal.
- These despatches were laid without delay on the tables of the houses, to be used far and wide against the recalcitrant Liberals.
— from Canada under British Rule 1760-1900 by John George Bourinot - Amendment had been submitted by Congress and made a condition of readmission for the recalcitrant States.
— from The New Nation by Frederic L. (Frederic Logan) Paxson - A highly successful program of conquest depends on armed might, and cannot be executed with an unprepared, weak, or recalcitrant military leadership.
— from Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression (Vol. II) by United States. Office of Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution of Axis Criminality - He had often thought of Arabella's remarks that he should have been more severe with Sue, that her recalcitrant spirit would soon have been broken.
— from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy - Now, what are your plans?" I felt like a recalcitrant child who is determined to defy his masterful father.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
