FreeScrabbleDictionary

restive

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
10
Words With Friends
11
Letters
7
Pronunciation
/ˈɹɛstɪv/

Definition of restive

3 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

adj

  1. Impatient under delay, duress, or control.
    “The horses were now more restive than ever, and Johann was trying to hold them in.”
    “[...] news of their defeat had spread across the countryside and made the animals on the neighbouring farms more restive than ever.”
    “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, […]”
See all 3 definitions

adj

  1. Impatient under delay, duress, or control.
    “The horses were now more restive than ever, and Johann was trying to hold them in.”
    “[...] news of their defeat had spread across the countryside and made the animals on the neighbouring farms more restive than ever.”
    “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, […]”
  2. Resistant to control; stubborn.
    “Yet I am of Opinion, this Defect ariſeth chiefly from a perverſe, reſtive Diſpoſition. For they are cunning, malicious, treacherous and revengeful.”
  3. Refusing to move, especially in a forward direction.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

Modification of earlier restiff, from Middle English restyf, from Old French restif, from rester (“to stay, remain”), from Latin restō. * Shares an etymology with rest ("to remain," obsolete) *Merriam-Webster states that this word was originally used to describe horses that disobeyed commands. Presumably, then, the word came to mean fidgety or anxious more broadly.

Anagrams of restive

6 plays · some not in Scrabble

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Words you can make from restive

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7-letter words

2 words

6-letter words

15 words

5-letter words

31 words

4-letter words

32 words

3-letter words

27 words

2-letter words

9 words

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