recalcitrance
/ɹɪˈkæl.sɪˌtɹəns/noun
recalcitrance is spelled R-E-C-A-L-C-I-T-R-A-N-C-E: 13 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, recalcitrance means “The state of being recalcitrant” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of recalcitrance is recalcitrances.
How many letters and syllables are in recalcitrance?
| Letters | 13: R-E-C-A-L-C-I-T-R-A-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 18 million words; the 128,787th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is recalcitrance?
Recalcitrance appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce recalcitrance?
- /ɹɪˈkæl.sɪˌtɹəns/
Recalcitrance has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-recalcitrance.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of recalcitrance
- recalcitrances plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does recalcitrance mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of being recalcitrant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Recalcitrance in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense state of being recalcitrant:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | récalcitrance |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does recalcitrance come from?
In use since at least 1856 (Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, published 1985). From French récalcitrance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).