Intractables

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Refers to persons or things that are very difficult to manage, control, or solve due to their resistance to guidance, treatment, or change
2. Describes entities or individuals characterized by stubbornness or complexity, making them tough to handle, influence, or resolve in various contexts
3. Pertains to situations, problems, or people that present persistent challenges because they resist efforts to direct, alleviate, or modify them in effective ways

Etymology: The core of this word is a handling metaphor. Latin "trahere" meant "to draw or drag," and its frequentative "tractare" meant "to handle or manage." "Tractabilis" described something that could be handled or managed, and adding the prefix "in-" (not) produced "intractabilis," something that cannot be handled. The same root gives English "tractor," "traction," and "distract," which literally means "drawn apart." English took the adjective from Latin, and the sense moved from the physical to the political and social. A stubborn animal or a material that resists shaping became a person or problem that resists management. The noun "intractables" is a later step: the adjective was turned into a plural noun for the group of problems or people that persistently defeat attempts to solve them. Its meaning therefore depends on the adjective's older sense of resisting handling.

Synonyms: stubborn individuals, obstinate persons, unyielding people, difficult persons, headstrong individuals

Antonyms: tractable individuals, compliant persons, manageable people, obedient individuals, pliant persons