Restive (r?st?v), a. [OF. restif, F. rétif, 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.
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Restive or resty, drawing back, instead of going forward, as some horses do. E. Philips (1658).
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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.
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2. Inactive; sluggish. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
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3. Impatient under coercion, chastisement, or opposition; refractory.
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4. Uneasy; restless; averse to standing still; fidgeting about; -- applied especially to horses. Trench.
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-- Rest"ive, adv. -- Rest"ive*ness, n.
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