restive : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: restive	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for restive
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
restive adj being in a tense state [syn: edgy, high-strung, highly strung, jittery, jumpy, nervy, overstrung, restive, uptight] impatient especially under restriction or delay; "the government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Restive \Rest"ive\ (r?st"?v), a. [OF. restif, F. r[82]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.