Contumacious

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌkɒn.tjʊˈmeɪ.ʃəs/

Definitions

1. Stubbornly or willfully disobedient to authority, especially in refusing to comply with a court order or summons
2. willfully disobedient and scornfully resistant to legitimate authority or legal directives through obstinate conduct
3. Showing an intentional refusal to obey rules or orders imposed by those in power

Etymology: Latin "contumax" meant "stubborn" or "obstinate," and its root hints at the attitude behind it: a person who sets their jaw and refuses to give way. English borrowed the adjective from it and gave it the stronger "-ious" ending, which is the same suffix found in words like "ambitious" and "pernicious," so the form reads as a sort of heavier, more formal version of its Latin parent. The word's internal structure is easy to misread. Taken at face value, it looks like "contumac" plus "-ious," but the sound pattern is really "contum" plus "-acious," the latter the same ending that appears in "audacious" and "tenacious." That resemblance is a surface matter, and the true base is the Latin "contumax," so the English form is best understood as a formal, slightly old-fashioned way of describing someone who will not comply.

Synonyms: defiant, rebellious, disobedient

Antonyms: obedient, compliant