Contumacious

//ˌkɒn.tjʊˈmeɪ.ʃəs// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Contemptuous of authority; willfully disobedient; rebellious.

    "[…] and, on his conſtancie, ſounds an accuſation to Herod of a contumacious affront, on ſuch a day, before many peers; præpares the king to ſome paſſion, and at laſt, by her daughter’s dancing, effects it."

  2. 2
    Willfully disobedient to the summons or orders of a court.
Adjective
  1. 1
    wilfully obstinate; stubbornly disobedient wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
alienatedbeyond controlbolshiebolshiebreachycontrary

Example

More examples

"The contumacious student dared to gainsay his teacher."

Etymology

From Latin contumāx (“stubborn, obstinate”) + -ious.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.