Adjective

(en adjective)

Not bound by chains or shackles.

* 1841 — , ch. 68

In a corner of the market among the pens for cattle, Barnaby knelt down, and pausing every now and then to pass his hand over his father’s face, or look up to him with a smile, knocked off his irons. When he had seen him spring, a free man, to his feet, and had given vent to the transport of delight which the sight awakened, he went to work upon his own, which soon fell rattling down upon the ground, and left his limbs unfettered .

(by extension) Not restricted.

*{{quote-news

, year=2012 , date=April 19 , author=Josh Halliday , title=Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised? , work=the Guardian citation , page= , passage=Alexander says she has been accused of censorship "worse than a Syrian dictator" over her quest to have gang-related videos taken down. But her campaign shows the debate over a completely unfettered internet is not clear-cut.}}

* 1916 — )

We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible.

Adjective

(en adjective)

Marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority.

* 1908 , , "In Trust" in The Hermit and the Wild Woman and Other Stories :

His nimble fancy was recalcitrant to mental discipline.

* 1914 , , "Death at the Excelsior":

There was something in her manner so reminiscent of the school teacher reprimanding a recalcitrant pupil that Mr. Snyder's sense of humor came to his rescue.

* 1959 June 8, " Kenya: The Hola Scandal," Time :

Kenya's official "Cowan Plan," named after a colonial prison administrator, decreed that recalcitrant prisoners "be manhandled to the site and forced to carry out the task."

Unwilling to cooperate socially.

Difficult to deal with or to operate.

* 2003 , Robert G. Wetzel, Solar radiation as an ecosystem modulator'', in E. Walter Helbling, Horacio Zagarese (editors), ''UV Effects in Aquatic Organisms and Ecosystems , page 13:

The more labile organic constituents of complex dissolved and particulate organic matter are commonly hydrolyzed and metabolized more rapidly than more recalcitrant organic compounds that are less accessible enzymatically.

* 2004 , Derek W. Urwin, Germany: From Geographical Expression to Regional Accommodation'', in (editor), ''Regions and Regionalism in Europe , page 47:

The Hansa had no legal status, independent finances or a common institutional framework, while the major weapon against recalcitrant members (or opponents) was the threat of embargo.

* 2006 , Janet Pierrehumbert, Syllable structure and word structure: a study of triconsonantal clusters in English'', in Patricia A. Keating (editor), ''Phonological Structure and Phonetic Form , page 179:

Particularly recalcitrant examples which made it impossible to remove actual words while maintaining the balance of the set were resolved by altering a consonant in the base word to create a new base form.

* 2010 , Brian J. Hall, John C. Hall, Sauer's Manual of Skin Diseases , page 251:

However, when a clinician is faced with a more recalcitrant case, it is important to remember to ask the patient whether psychological, social, or occupational stress might be contributing to the activity of the skin disorder.

* '>citation

Not viable for an extended period; damaged by drying or freezing.