Synonyms and Antonyms of restive
1
given to resisting authority or another's control
- the restive horse threw its head and refused to move when the rider urged it forward
balky, contrary, contumacious, defiant, disobedient, froward, incompliant, insubordinate, intractable, obstreperous, rebel, rebellious, recalcitrant, recusant, refractory, ungovernable, unruly, untoward, wayward, willful (or wilful)
noncooperative, uncooperative
insurgent, mutinous
adamant, adamantine, dogged, hardheaded, headstrong, immovable, implacable, inflexible, mulish, negativistic, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, peevish, pertinacious, pigheaded, rigid, self-willed, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding
fractious, restive, uncontrollable, unmanageable, wild
perverse, resistant, wrongheaded
bad, disorderly, errant, misbehaving, mischievous, monkeying, monkeyish, naughty
undisciplined
dissident, nonconformist
discourteous, disrespectful, ill-bred, ill-mannered, ill-natured, impertinent, impolite, impudent, inconsiderate, insolent, ornery, rude, uncivil, uncouth, ungracious, unmannerly
acquiescent, agreeable, amiable, cooperative, deferential, obliging
yielding
behaved, disciplined, well-bred
courteous, polite, respectful
kowtowing, obsequious, servile, slavish, subservient
decorous, mannerly, orderly, proper
controllable, governable, manageable, trainable
2
lacking or denying rest
- spent a restive night worrying about the next day's exam
agitated, distressed, disturbed, perturbed, troubled, unsettled
aflutter, anxious, dithery, edgy, fidgety, het up, hung up, jittery, jumpy, nervous, nervy, tense, upset, uptight, worried
