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   Res·tive

   /ˈrestiv/

   

   adjective

   • 1. (of a person) unable to keep still or silent and becoming increasingly difficult to control, especially because of impatience, dissatisfaction, or boredom: "the crowd had been waiting for hours and many were becoming restive" Similar restlessfidgetyedgyon edgetenseuneasyill at easeworked upnervousagitatedanxiouson tenterhookskeyed upapprehensiveunquietimpatientnervyinformal:jumpyjitterytwitchyuptightwiredlike a cat on a hot tin rooflike a cat on hot bricksstressyunrulydisorderlyout of controluncontrollableunmanageableungovernableunbiddabledisobedientdefiantup in armswillfulrecalcitrantrefractoryinsubordinatedisaffecteddissentiousriotousrebelliousmutinousseditiousinsurgentinsurrectionaryinsurrectionistrevolutionaryinformal:bolshiearchaic:contumaciousOpposite calmbiddablepeaceable
   • ▪ (of a horse) refusing to advance, stubbornly standing still or moving backward or sideways: "both their horses became restive at once"

   Word Origin late 16th century: from Old French restif, -ive, from Latin restare ‘remain’. The original sense, ‘inclined to remain still’, has undergone a reversal; the association with the refractory movements of a horse gave rise to the current sense ‘restless’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. restively adverb
   • 2. restiveness noun

   Scrabble Points: 10

   • R

     1

   • E

     1

   • S

     1

   • T

     1

   • I

     1

   • V

     4

   • E

     1

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