obstreperous

adjective

ob·​strep·​er·​ous əb-ˈstre-p(ə-)rəs 

äb-

1

: marked by unruly or aggressive noisiness : clamorous

obstreperous merriment

an obstreperous argument

2

: stubbornly resistant to control : unruly

obstreperous behavior

an obstreperous child

obstreperously adverb

obstreperousness noun

Did you know?

Imagine walking a dog down a sidewalk in a neighborhood full of delicious smells and other temptations—it’s easy to picture your pooch barking and straining at the leash to chase a squirrel, or dragging you toward something enticingly (to them) stinky, right? But can you imagine saying to your doggo in response, “Quit being so obstreperous!” Probably not. Obstreperous has a much more formal flair than words, such as stubborn or unruly, used to describe similar behavior. As such it’s unlikely to be used in casual speech or contexts like the one above. The word comes from a combination of the handy Latin prefix ob- (meaning “against”) and strepere, a verb meaning “to make a noise”; someone who is obstreperous can be thought of as literally making noise to rebel against something, much like a protesting crowd or an unruly child. Strepere has made little noise in the English lexicon, however; in addition to obstreperous it seems only to have contributed to the rarely encountered strepitous and its synonym strepitant, which mean “characterized or accompanied by much noise”—that is, “noisy.”

Synonyms

• blatant
• caterwauling
• clamant
• clamorous
• squawking
• vociferant
• vociferating
• vociferous
• yawping
• yauping
• yowling

Choose the Right Synonym for obstreperous

vociferous, clamorous, blatant, strident, boisterous, obstreperous mean so loud or insistent as to compel attention.

vociferous implies a vehement shouting or calling out.

vociferous cries of protest and outrage

clamorous may imply insistency as well as vociferousness in demanding or protesting.

clamorous demands for prison reforms

blatant implies an offensive bellowing or insensitive loudness.

blatant rock music

a blatant clamor for impeachment

strident suggests harsh and discordant noise.

heard the strident cry of the crow

boisterous suggests a noisiness and turbulence due to high spirits.

a boisterous crowd of party goers

obstreperous suggests unruly and aggressive noisiness and resistance to restraint.

the obstreperous demonstrators were arrested

Examples of obstreperous in a Sentence

a room full of obstreperous children

an obstreperous crowd protesting the government's immigration policy

Recent Examples on the Web

Making clear that any future conflict would end with the reunification of the entire peninsula under the South’s authority should increase the North’s restraint, as well as reinforce China’s efforts to rein in its obstreperous ally. —Richard Haass, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2013

Featuring bodies stacked like cords of wood and a bloated S.S. guard dangling from an iron hook, the spread was an obstreperous incursion among the kind of fashion and perfume ads that Miller had once shot or appeared in. —Chris Wiley, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2024

Rachelle and Matthew had told me that Zac had become obstreperous and even menacing toward them, but Howells mentioned several incidents of physical aggression. —Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024

The patience that administrators initially displayed toward their most obstreperous students ran out when the antisocial campus bacchanalia, and their tolerance thereof, did reputational damage to their host institutions. —Noah Rothman, National Review, 2 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin obstreperus, from obstrepere to clamor against, from ob- against + strepere to make a noise

First Known Use

circa 1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

obstreperous

adjective

ob·​strep·​er·​ous əb-ˈstrep-(ə-)rəs 

äb-

: noisy and hard to control

obstreperously adverb

obstreperousness noun