contumacious

English

WOTD – 16 January 2008

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin contumāx (“stubborn, obstinate”)

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: con‧tu‧ma‧cious
• IPA^(key): /ˌkɒn.tjʊˈmeɪ.ʃəs/
• IPA^(key): /ˌkɑːn.tʊˈmeɪ.ʃəs/, /ˌkɑːn.tjəˈmeɪ.ʃəs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃəs

Adjective

contumacious (comparative more contumacious, superlative most contumacious)

1. Contemptuous of authority; willfully disobedient; rebellious.
   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes” in The Poetical Works of John Milton, volume 4 (edited by Henry John Todd; published in 1801), page 505:

     The queen hears of it; takes occaſion to paſſe wher he is, on purpoſe, that, under prætense of reconſiling to him, or ſeeking to draw a kind retractation from him of the cenſure on the marriage; to which end ſhe ſends a courtier before, to ſound whether he might be perſuaded to mitigate his ſentence; which not finding, ſhe herſelf craftily aſſays; 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.

   • 1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution, Book 2.V:

     In all places too are Dissident Priests; whom the Legislative will have to deal with: contumacious individuals, working on that angriest of passions; plotting, enlisting.

2. (law) Willfully disobedient to the summons or orders of a court.

Synonyms

• (contemptuous of authority): disobedient, insubordinate, obstinate, perverse, rebellious, stubborn

Related terms

• contumaciously
• contumaciousness
• contumacy
• contumely

Translations

contemptuous of authority

• Bulgarian: упорит (bg) (uporit), непокорен (bg) (nepokoren)
• German: ungehorsam (de)
• Japanese: 官命抗拒の (kanmēkōkyono)
• Polish: oporny (pl) m, nieposłuszny (pl) m, krnąbrny (pl) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: непослу́шный (ru) m (neposlúšnyj), несгово́рчивый (ru) m (nesgovórčivyj)
• Spanish: insubordinado (es)
• Swedish: gensträvig (sv)
• Turkish: itaatsiz (tr)

in law, willfully disobedient

• Japanese: 服従しない (fukujūshinai)
• Polish: oporny (pl) m, nieposłuszny (pl) m, krnąbrny (pl) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: contumaz (es)
• Swedish: tredskande